Shinjitsu wa Nan Darou?
by xxtoushirou
Summary: Within Shizune City, trouble is stirring as another clan aims to destroy both Homra and Scepter 4. Then in comes a seemingly normal girl, Alice Zen, but she isn't normal at all. With a past that's likely to plunge her back into darkness... she resolves to protect and keep others from experiencing the same thing she has. Yata MisakixOC, Rated T for language
1. Prologue

Welcome to my first ever Fanfiction of K! I hope you like it xD! Please don't forget to review, even if you have a small comment, it's still very important to me!~ Any mistakes... let me know and I will fix it ASAP!~

IMPORTANT!

If this story seems familiar to any of you, then it's because I adopted this awesome story and idea from _ShiroMokutanKitsune's _awesome story, FLY.

I more or less, added my own ideas to this story and Alice Zen isn't completely... normal.

MWAHAHAHAHA!~

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**Chapter 1: Prologue**

White.

I stood on the balcony of a tall building, lovingly taking in the beautiful scenery around me. The snow falling slowly around me was so pretty. It was all so white and so quiet and peaceful… like I was the only person left in Japa-

"Oi! Teme! Come back here, you bastard!"

… Or not

I sighed as below me, a boy with chestnut brown hair was chasing after a figure about maybe eighteen years old? Even from up here, I could tell he had blue hair.

"Oh?" I observed the scene before me. On his skateboard and with a red aura trailing behind him, the boy kept trying to go faster and faster to no avail. The other boy was simply faster, running on his own two feet, although he did have green flames trailing his every step.

"Pretty," I breathed, gazing at the flashes of green and red as they clashed against each other. The clashes of red and green were more frequent now as it repeatedly flashed all over the city. I giggled quietly, pretending that it was some kind of a special firework show… just for me.

I stretched out my hand, as if to reach for the bright colors and when I clenched my fist tightly, a voice yelled behind me.

"Alice! Come back inside before you get sick!" my best friend yelled from the door.

"Yes Mother," I yelled back sarcastically.

"Please, if I was your mother, you would already be back inside with two bruised butt cheeks if I have to" she growled back at me.

Chuckling, I turned my back to her to gaze back at the city below me and my eyes widened when streaks of blue joined the clashing colors of red and green. Staring at the pretty colors one last time, I walked back into the condo, shouting at the top of my lungs,

"It's cold!"

"That's why I told you to come in sooner, baka!" Meru-chan threw a pristine white towel at me and started to dry my hair.

"Hey, I can do it myself," I growled.

"Highly unlikely," Meru smirked, "If I left you to your own devices, you would have just gone to sleep with your hair wet, without dinner, shower or brushing your teeth."

"Please, what's the point of drying my hair now if I'm going to take a shower and get it all wet again later!" I mumbled.

"And that's why you'll never get a boyfriend, let alone _married_, at this rate," Meru scoffed as she finished drying my hair. This twenty two year old, 5'8'', blue eyed blond foreign beauty…

…who was just finished lecturing me about getting a boyfriend, like seriously… I don't even want a boyfriend, let alone get _married_…

… was Fuji Meru. She's been with me since forever! She acts as my replacement mother, sister, guardian, pet, and anything else that you could think of. She's a hypocrite, too. She hates boys and men of all age and size but still finds the time to use her sex appeal to get discounts for everything… even toilet paper. I mean… we're pretty well off so I really don't see why she does that though. And one day I asked her and she looked back to me with a serious face and said, "Isn't it fun to have them wrapped around your pinky, following your every word because they want some of this,"…

So lost in my thought, I hadn't seen her twist the towel between her fingertips and with a flick of her wrist… it whipped me.

"Hey, what was that for?!" I shouted, launching myself at her, which was a very bad idea but it seemed like a good idea at the time. In seconds, she twisted her whole body and turned the tables on me. Now, she had me pinned under her instead…

…Did I ever get around to mentioning that she was a hand- to- hand combat specialist… and she was only 15 when she was crowned champion for five years straight at the MMA finalists… same age as I am now. I'm not as strong as she is but I'm pretty sure I could hold my own in a fight. Six years ago, she quit… left all of that fame and glory behind to help me with what I had to do…

"I told you to go and take a shower, you dumb bell," she replied, acting as if she wasn't still on top of me, still pinning my hands above me… still crushing my kidneys!

"Oho~! I love me some girl on girl action!"

Meru and I whirled over our heads to face the man who just walked into the room. At 6'3'', albeit his strawberry pink eyes, with his platinum blond hair, King bore a striking resemblance to Adolf K. Weismann, the first and silver King.

"Old man…" I started,

"King…" Meru started

"Die, go to hell, you fool!" We said in complete unison.

"Uwahh~!" he cried, "I feel so loved~!" He leapt around the room, showering us all in flowers and hearts.

"Tell me again why we have this idiot for a King?" I muttered under my breath, loud enough so that only Meru could hear me.

"Tough luck…" She muttered before face palming.

"Nani? Nani?! Are you two fighting over me?!" he shouted, eyes twinkling. He wrapped Meru in a hug.

"I'm going to take a shower…" I called to them before skipping hurriedly out of the living room.

"Please restrain yourself," Meru spat, daintily picking up her King's hand, draped around her shoulder, with a hesitant and disgusted look like she was watching a bug rather than a man.

Oh yeah… I forgot to mention… that was our King, the Green King, Midorin Shogo, an absolute naïve idiot. He's a danger to himself and everyone around him.

Meru and King… they're not the nicest people out there… but they still saved me, although I do believe that my attitude contributed to my survival. If worst comes to worst, I would always protect them before my own self. Although Meru would be so angry with me for protecting her that she just might find a way to bring me back and kill me herself…

* * *

"Ahh~" I breathed and ran my hand through my blood red hair, "That was a nice bath!" I rolled my shoulders around, seeing if I could get these cricks in my neck.

I walked to the kitchen, passing the living room along the way. Needless to say, I was completely surprised when the room… was _not _in shambles. The furniture was in place, and not a single thing was broken.

"Woah… did the world end or something..." I mused out loud.

"Oh Alice, you're done?" Meru called from the kitchen.

"Hn," I nodded and went to the fridge, "Coke?"

"Yeah," she grumbled, bent over a map of Shizune City with red, blue and green flags stuck everywhere.

"Where's King?" I asked, placing a can of coke next to her.

"Out cold," she glared.

"Hugged you?" I asked, sipping my drink slowly.

"Yes," she spat, angrier than the time I accidentally put baking soda into her conditioner…

…it really was an accident; I didn't know she used the green aura to heat the shower water…

There was a moment of silence as both of us gulped down the fizzy drink.

"Any news…" I asked attentively, almost afraid to break the silence that descended on us… to hear her next words.

"None at all. I don't get it, how can your brother be that good at hiding?!" Meru grumbled, covering her face with her hands.

Sighing as well, I thought back to the times when we played together. Our ages were seven years apart but he always made sure to play with me when I asked... albeit lazily.

Onii – chan was always good at hide n' seek. It was always after he spoke that I realized that he was standing in plain sight. And that was the strangest part… Nii-chan was never plain or simple, except for his words. He never bothered covering then up, he was always saying exactly what he thought and he wasn't bad looking either but… why couldn't I ever win in hide n' seek…

"_Why can't I ever find you?!" I yelled at him, after I spent all of dawn and dusk trying to find him when he was sleeping under the apple tree I just climbed. _

"_You're trying too hard," Nii-chan grumbled, annoyed that I woke him up for something so trivial…_

"_You're trying too hard…"_

_You're trying too hard…_

I'm trying too hard.

"We're trying too hard," I muttered under my breath but Meru heard me anyways.

"We're trying too hard?" Meru repeated, the kitchen filled with silence when her eyes suddenly lit up and she exclaimed, "Rather than trying too hard… it's just that you're doing too much… We need to focus on one thing at a time."

She turned to me with a blank face that screamed 'SERIOUS' to me.

"You need to choose and sort out your priorities. It's either find your brother or deal with the renegade green clansmen. You can't do both. You're not superman, Alice. I can't let have you fighting half heartedly… no matter how strong you are, you'll die." Her sapphire blue eyes gleamed and bore through my own amethyst irises. It was like she knew she was tearing my heart in two by telling me to choose.

… but I already knew my choice, before I am Mikoto's little sister…

… I am, first and foremost, the Green Clan's third in command, Sleeping Forest's weapons expert…

…Alice Zen, the Nightingale…

I guess Meru was satisfied with the gaze in my eyes, so without a word she went back to studying the map. Which was just as well… I may have sort out my priorities but tonight, my TOP priority is getting to my comfy, warm bed and sleep till morning.

I have school tomorrow thanks to that fucking bastard from Scepter 4, barging into our apartment and asking why I, age 15, was not in school.

Correction.

That idiot said it like this, "That brat is still a minor and should be attending school."

Stupid bastard.

No wonder he joined Scepter 4. Two weeks ago, I hacked into Scepter 4's server and found that bitch. Andy Domyoji… I cant wait for the days I make his life a living hell…

Still… I wonder if he would have acted the same way if he knew we were the Sleeping Forest… or if I gave him a one-two uppercut to the jaw, knock him to China if I could.

Thanks to that mother father gentleman, I have to go to a cruddy school… on an ISLAND! Ashinaka High School, extremely hard to enter and leave whenever I want… but I'll manage.

First, I'll get some sleep and finish that huge pile of homework I neglected tomorrow in the morning. It's my turn to deal with the renegade but I can only deal with Amai Daichi when he resurfaces from whatever rat hole he's been hiding in.

Then I'll find my brother… I need to know… to know if I can still live in this world happily knowing that's he's happy somewhere… if Mother's still happy…

If they're happy, then I might as well just destroy everything that they ever cared about…

But that's for later… for now I'll go to sleep and dream happy thoughts… probably…

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**Thanks for reading :D! Please review... even a good job is good enough for me XD!**

**Until Next time, Ciao~**

** - xxtoushirou**


	2. Fated Meeting? Or Not

**HI! In the previous chapter, I forgot to mention that everything is happening about one year before Totsuka- san died... so Totsuka Tatara is still alive and Fushimi didn't join Scepter 4 yet... he will soon but that'll be in a few chapters or so... hehehe~ I actually can't wait to write about it!**

**Thanks to tora-chan, Maya095 and Shiro MokutanKitsune for reviewing my story. **

**To Maya095: ummm... I'm not sure how to explain it without revealing too much but it's more like she's in this love/ hate relationship with her brother. She likes him because, you know, he's her brother and they had _some_ pleasant memories but she also hates him because of what he _may _have done and... yeah..., umm... Alice more or less just hates her mother and her brother takes after the mom so... she's... conflicted?**

**To tora-chan: Yup~ sleeping forest is from air gear. I love that anime... but the ending really confused me but somehow, I really like the name Sleeping Forest, gives me a sense of mystery! -ish~**

**Disclaimer: I love Misaki and wish he was all mine... *sighs* but sadly he isn't... (;o;) none of them are OTL... except for Alice, Meru, Green King, Daichi and... some others...**

**Please review! Hope you enjoy it~ *(^o^)***

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**Chapter 2: Fated Meeting? Or **

"Ah!~" I huffed, trying to speed up my pace, seeing as I'm still five miles from the school, not including the train ride, and only twenty five more minutes to get there. How the hell did I end up so late? Well… you see…

_I woke up in the morning, three hours before school started so I could get cracking at the sheets of equations, history and literature. I wasn't worried; I know I'll be fine. Meru has a really responsible nature and if she hasn't sent me to school before, then it was because I didn't need it._

_And this is where the universe loves to jack up my life…_

_Here I was, finishing the last question of the fifty- question algebra worksheet… and then a pancake paid me a visit. To be honest, it was visiting my worksheet rather than me. Staring at it in shock and disbelief, I turned around to see Meru's horrified expression. In her hands was an empty pancake pan…_

"_Oops…" her eyes widened with… was that fear flickering in and out of her blue irises? No matter… be her my family or friend, this time… I will definitely kill her!_

"_Me~ru~?" I sing songed, my bangs were covering my eyes so she couldn't read my facial expression, couldn't see how annoyed I was, couldn't see my murderous rage… but, dealing with her will have to wait, _I _still had homework to do…_

…_what a shame._

_Clenching my fists, I threw a punch at the wall, cracking it a bit and wall debris floated to the floor, taking in and out deep breathes, I calmed myself. Dawning a big smile on my face, mentally I growled at her, telling her this is was _not _the end… I liked to think that she understood. Gulping, she robotically turned herself back to the stove and poured in another batter._

_And this was how I spent the next two and a half hours doing. At two quarters till school starts, Meru poked her head out from her bedroom, which she ran into after ruining my homework another two times with her plate of scrambled eggs and glass of milk; and asked, "Aren't you going to be late?"_

_I froze and glanced at the clock… and I swear that anyone within a ten mile radius could hear me scream…_

I was late, really late. But… as long as I get there before Moriyama- sensei called my name… I'll be fine. It was a rule he told me on the first day I transferred in, and I was five minutes late…

…blame the King; he kept latching himself to me, bawling and asking why I was leaving him…

… as long as I made it to class before he called my name, then I wasn't considered late, although I'm pretty sure he would call me into his office and give this huge lecture.

After running around absentmindedly, a light bulb went on in my head as I realized that the train station was right in front of me… now only if that wall wasn't there… oh wells, can't ever fly too high, am I right?

Using my left hand as a pivot, I swung my body, legs first, over the wall and… into somebody else.

That person slammed face first into the ground and I fell on top of him. I dropped my bag, spilling its contents all over the sidewalk, "Ah shit, really?" I grumbled, fingering my right elbow, which was slightly pink and bloody. Whatever, I have a band aid; I'll stick it on later.

"Oi, watch where the hell you-," he growled as he stood up wearily, but then stopped.

Remembering that I actually bulldozed someone down, I looked up and was thoroughly annoyed when he stood directly in front of the sun. I couldn't make out any redeeming features except for the outline of a beanie on his head, a red sweater tied around his waist with a white long sleeved shirt and dark green shorts on. And he wore red headphones around his neck. He looked like he was extremely angry at first but stopped short.

"A-ahh, I'm sorry…" He said hesitantly after a moment's pause when I just stared at him. Snapping out of my stupor, I quickly tried to scramble everything back into my bag.

'_Act like a normal girl!'_ I remember Meru scolding me after knocking this guy's front teeth out after he tried to feel me up. Creep.

I had to stop myself from giggling when I saw the blush on his face, it was pretty obvious that he wasn't used to interacting with girls.

"Hnn…" I shook my head, "It's fine, it's my fault for trying to vault over the wall, anyways… hahaha~"

A bell rang off in the distance and I cursed under my breath, that was the late bell and I still had to take the train to school. "Sorry about that," I shoved anything I could reach into my bag and got up and ran.

Still running, I turned my head back and saw him waving at me. Blood rushed to my cheeks and I quickly turned away.

Shit… he's cute…

* * *

**HOMRA**

For Homra's vanguard, Yata Misaki, today started out just like all the others. At a quarter to eight, he started to walk towards the bar that homes the members of Homra.

Just two more blocks, till he can meet the bacon and eggs that were eagerly waiting for his arrival, was all Yata could think about, and so, Homra's usually attentive skateboarder had no idea that his day was just about to turn upside down.

Literally.

Honestly, who knew that a little girl, barely five feet one, could land such a heavy kick. Thank god Kamamoto wasn't here or else he would have been teased to no end for being knocked off his feet by a girl.

"Oi, watch where the hell you-," Yata Misaki's words jumbled together in his head as he saw a girl in front of him. Yata's legs turned to jelly and his throat was abnormally dry when she looked up and just stared at him. Not that he minded. He could probably spend hours staring at her and not get tired of her at all, with her silky smooth scarlet red hair and her amethyst eyes that blinked innocently at him. Her eyes reminded of the eggplant he had for dinner last night, she was really pretty.

Just moments ago, he was ready to destroy the city to kill the brat who knocked him down; Yata felt his anger disappear into the air, the longer he stared at her.

"A-ahh, I'm sorry…" Yata stammered, flinching at how pathetic he sounded.

She was still staring at him when she suddenly burst into giggles, blood rushed to Yata's cheeks and he tensed up, couldn't even say anything else.

"Hnn," she shook her head, her hair flowing out in waves all around her, "It's fine, it's my fault for trying to vault over the wall, anyways… hahaha~"

Yata opened his mouth to say something else when a bell rang somewhere in the distance…

… _ah, that school, Ashinaki, Anosaki…_ –fuck

… Homra's resident skateboarder widened his eyes in shock as the pretty girl in front of him muttered strings after strings of curses. She scrambled up her things, said a quick, "Sorry about that," and ran away.

"A-ann…" Yata muttered, he turned around and was about to start walking to Homra's bar, again, when something shiny on the ground caught his eye. Bending down, he found a PDA; it definitely wasn't his… so it must be that girl's. Yata grabbed it and waved it in the air, yelling 'girl' over and over again till she finally looked back, but almost immediately turned her head away and ran even faster.

"Shit. What am I supposed to do with this?" Yata Misaki muttered to himself, ignoring the stares he was getting and pocketed the PDA.

Strolling into Homra's bar, the owner of it, Kusanagi Izumo, looked up expectantly at him.

"Not that I've been counting, but you're a bit later than usual. Your eggs actually sat there long enough to heat the plate. Anything good happen?" The bartender asked, pausing his polishing of the glass to stare at his fellow clansmen. Kusanagi Izumo was one of the better fighters of Homra but he also specializes as an underground informant for his Clan. With his short blond hair, striking brown eyes and tall stature; he was often mistaken for a male model. At a glance, Kusanagi Izumo shows to be a very composed individual… but just you watch, break or damage his bar in any form and you just brought yourself a one way ticket to bottom most pits of hell.

Remembering about how he felt about girls in general, Yata's blush came back, "N-nothing special happened, K-ku-kusanagi- san." He stammered, adverting his gaze.

"Uso," spoke a soft voice next to him. First the girl, and now Anna… Homra's vanguard really was off his game today.

Kushina Anna, Homra's princess in a clan of barbarians, was the red clan's youngest member. With a poker face that can con thousand, she was fair and petite with long, white hair and reddish purple eyes. With her taste for Gothic Lolita dresses, Anna looks just like a doll. But, she wasn't just a normal girl. Kushina Anna was a strain with the ability to read people's hearts as well as being able to see what's going on with every single person through her crimson marbles.

"Oh?~ You know Anna doesn't lie, so, cough it up," Izumo persisted.

Yata Misaki groaned, deciding that he should just spill everything. It would have been more of a hassle not to. Sitting at the main table, he placed the girl's PDA on it. Izumo and Anna got closer to inspect it further. Somehwere along the way, Totsuka Tatara's face joined their observing ones.

"So… who did you steal that from?" Totsuka asked, picking up the PDA. Totsuka Tatara was a pacifist and he was considered the weakest of all of his fellow Clansmen. Totsuka was one of the first Homra members along with Kusanagi Izumo. With his short, neatly combed light brown hair and warm brown eyes, no one could deny that he was quite easy on the eyes. His bright smile always had a calming effect on Homra's atmosphere. He was always calm, laid- back and very friendly and there was always a very charismatic air about him that makes you pour your heart and soul to him.

"So…" Yata Misaki was about to tell his story, but stopped to yell at Totsuka- san before continuing, "… I was on my way here when I crashed- no, she crashed, into me and apparently she forgot to pick this up."

"Is she cute?" Totsuka- san asked, handing the PDA over to the bartender.

"W-w-what are you talking about?!" Yata's blush came back full force.

"Eh? She is pretty cute…" Izumo chimed in. Izumo turned on the PDA and found the girl's ID, her picture and basic information popped up.

"Alice… Zen… hn?" Totsuka muttered, smiling creepily at Yata."

"W-what?!" Yata stuttered, glaring at the smiling Homra member.

"Well, let me tell you this; the longer you hold onto this, the more of a pervert you'll look like. Not to mention, it's rather stalkerish," Izumo laughed, tossing the PDA up and down.

"Shut the hell up! I'm going to return it the next time I see her!" Yata yelled.

"So you're planning to see her again?" Anna asked, quietly. It wasn't until now that the occupants of the room realized… Despite her doll- like appearance, Anna just might be the sneakiest and snarkiest of them all.

"No that's not– " Yata yelled with his apple cheeks.

"Oh King, awake so soon?" Tatara called from where he sat.

M-mikoto – san!" Yata saluted.

Izumo and Anna both turned to face their King as he walked into the room, finally waking up from a very, very, _very_ long nap, and so nobody heard the door chime as someone else walked in. No one noticed the lone figure who sat by himself at the end of the bar. Nobody, but the King, who was only conveniently facing the teen's direction.

Clicking his tongue, Fushimi Saruhiko was thoroughly annoyed at his once best friend. He especially hated that awe inspired expression on Misaki's face. He hated it and just wanted to tear it off. _'Maybe even carve that smile off of his face so he'll never smile at anyone else like that again,'_ Fushimi thought darkly, fingering the throwing knives he kept close at all times.

Fushimi Saruhiko hated Homra and its family like atmosphere. But most of all, he hated that Homra stole his best friend. All he ever needed was Misaki… but he isn't all Misaki needs. Fushimi wandered a hand through his short, messy, dark blue hair and wondered whether or not he should go through with his plan to join Scepter 4.

It was then that Homra's most intuitive Clansmen turned around and beamed at him, "Fushimi- kun, Good morning."

Startled, Yata turned around as well and shouted in surprise, "Saruhiko? When did you get here?"

Annoyed all over again, Fushimi clicked his tongue and was about to sulk back into his corner of the bar when Kusanagi Izumo tossed a PDA to the King.

Flicking his wrist, Suoh Mikoto, the violent and most temperamental Red King, watched as the girl's ID on the PDA popped out and turned into a hologram.

The Red King's eyes widened in surprise but he spoke not a word.

"Nan dayou? I never knew Misaki~ had such a cute picture on his ID." Fushimi smirked, enjoying the attention Yatagarasu directed at him, even if it was a glare, even if he knew he was making their relationship drift farther and further apart till it completely breaks apart.

"Pfft," Izumo and Tatara broke into laughter and Yata's blush returned like it was never gone.

"M-m-moron! Of course it's not me, you fuc–" Yata shouted.

Fushimi and Yata started a verbal brawl, throwing insults to each other, trying to top the other. This was the only time Homra's members remembered that their brash and brutal vanguard actually had a brain in there after all.

"Mikoto. What's wrong?" Anna walked over to her beloved red King, who glows a lovely red and placed her small, petite hands on his hands, which was still griping the girl's PDA. Hearing Anna's question, the whole room quieted. Even Yata and Fushimi stopped arguing to listen.

"Do you know here?" Tatara asked, raising an eyebrow.

When Mikoto nodded, Izumo actually dropped one of his precious glasses. "Don't tell me you actually laid a hand on a minor." His eyes widened but turned back to normal when his King shot him a murderous glare.

"Yo! We're back!" The rest of Homra's main members walked into the bar, oblivious to the tense atmosphere till Chitose Yu, Homra's infamous womanizer, placed a hand on Kamamoto's shoulder, stopping him from venturing further.

"I accidentally bumped into her this morning," Yata reported to his King, once it was known that she was someone he recognized.

"Bumped into who?" Kamamoto's eyes widened and scratched his blond goatee in confusion.

"Did Yata- san get a girlfriend or something?" Dewa Masaomi chuckled and flicked his derby hat upwards.

"Who is she?" Tatara asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, this was the first time he heard that King knew such a young girl.

"Who's who?" Chitose asked.

"She's…" Mikoto rasped.

"Do you get the feeling that they're ignoring us? Bando Saburota whispered.

"Oi, chihuahua~" Eric said to Yata, "What's going on?"

Not a single retort was shouted back at the blond male. Yata had other things on his mind.

"Oi… oi oi oi, Yata- chan didn't even respond to that…" Shohei Akagi sweat dropped.

"Looks like Eric is surprised, too" Fujishima Kousuke added, nodding to where Eric stood, frozen, not expecting a passive response from the easily irritable skateboarder.

"She's my little sister… probably," Mikoto finished.

…

"Eh?!" Everyone shouted in disbelief. Everyone was unable to believe that their violent King had a little sister.

Some imagined her to be some kind of a delinquent, with her hair bleached to match her rebellious attitude.

Others, who had seen her picture, were just in shock that this avidly smoking, muscular, lazy and often seen sleeping man had such a cute little sister.

Anna nodded like she knew all along, knowing her ability… she might have known from the very beginning.

Mikoto's news even brought shock to Fushimi's normally jaded face.

And Yata… Yata Misaki impersonated a guppy fish for a few seconds before realizing that perhaps… he was only interested in her because she bore a faint resemblance to the King.

Needless to say… Homra received a great big shock today…

* * *

"A-a-achoo!" Alice sneezed for the umpteenth time that morning. She leaned the back of her hand against her forehead and shook her head, dispelling any thought that it could have been a fever.

Curling up into a ball, Alice leaned against the back of the train seat she managed to snag and closed her eyes for a short nap. There was nothing she could do about the speed of the train, so she could only hope…

_When Alice opened her eyes, she was outside… nowhere familiar._

"_Eh?" her voiced echoed across the ruins._

"_What happened?" she breathed, pulling at the neck of her shirt. "Shit, it's hot here."_

_Walking around for a bit, she came across a billboard sign that vaguely reminded her of the sign that rested above her building. In the middle of the sea of chaos… was a lone red haired man. His right hand was covered in red flames… no it was the red aura… is he somehow connected to Homra?_

_The aura slowly crept from the palm of his hand to other parts of his body. Alice watched as the man was slowly engulfed by the red aura, lost within the bloodlust of his power. Parts of his arm and face were already beginning to char and singe. On his face was this look of… this frantic look like he couldn't get enough adrenaline pumping inside of him… and once he released his power… he just couldn't rein it in. It surged and destroyed the city._

_Above him, a Damocles sword was jagged and cracked; broken bits were floating around it._

'A Damocles Sword…? Then this man is a King… in he's in this condition?!'_ Alice thought with horror, remembering the previous Red King, whose sword's deterioration was the reason why Ashinaka High School became its own island,_

_But then, the sword dropped. His Damocles Sword fell and pierced the man, no- the current Red King. What scared Alice the most wasn't the threat of an imminent disaster, but the fact that right before the sword pierced him, his eyes hand wandered and focused on her, his gaze softened and he muttered…_

…_I'm sorry…_

_Distress and fear gripped Alice's heart and suddenly, it was harder to breathe. Acting on her instincts, her legs jumped into action and she ran, full speed, toward the man and his fallen sword._

"_MIKOTO!" Alice shouted, stretching out her hand to reach the Red King. Tears streamed from her eyes and the sword had pierced them both._

Alice woke up with a start, feeling excessively sweaty and tired. Feeling slightly light headed, she tried to relax into her seat but the job was done.

Her dream… no- her vision was scaring her shitless.

_**Ashinaka High School. Ashinaka High School.**_

A voice blared through the loud speakers, signaling the end of the train ride.

Telling herself to deal with her vision later, Alice tried to forget it all, to wipe her mind clean… but it bothered her. She hated not knowing, whoever said ignorance is bliss was probably dropped on the head several times as a child. There is nothing scarier than the unknown. And right now, Alice remember the cold feeling that would seep deep into her, never disappearing… that feeling of… fear.

Rubbing her hands together, Alice tried to rid herself of that feeling but then she remembered… she remembered the end of her vision… the part where she ran to the man and called him… _Mikoto_?

Why? Why did she do that? It was pretty obvious that she never met him before, not once in her life and yet… she could tell that there was already a connection between the two of them. His face was completely alien to her and yet, when she saw him resign to the reality that this was his end… her chest felt strangely heavy. Her legs were straining to run faster under the sudden use and yet, the thought to stop and observe the situation had never occurred to her. She wanted to save him… but she also couldn't help but feel that this was meant to be…

Which is it the truth? Believing the world to be completely black or white, through her dream… through her connection to that man… Alice realized that there are splashes of gray mixed in everywhere…

If that's the truth… then who is good… who is bad… who needs to be killed… who should live?

Just what is the truth…?

* * *

**Hehehe, Alice's first meeting with Yata! Oh, beforehand, I want to apologize for any OOCness, this is just how they all act in my weird fantasies... hehehe~**

**Please review! I'll stay up all night to write for you all!**

**Until Next Time! Ciao.**

**- xxtoushirou**


	3. Dream

**Hi~ Hope your happy to see me!**

**Was anyone surprised that Alice is Suoh Mikoto's little sister? (.O.')**

**Big thanks to hakezu for the review! And to anyone who put my story under favorite or alert!**

**Disclaimer: I love Misaki and wish he was all mine... *sighs* but sadly he isn't... (;o;) none of them are OTL... except for Alice, Meru, Green King, Daichi and... some others...**

**Please review! Hope you enjoy it~ *(^o^)***

* * *

**Chapter 3: Clash**

Shit. Please make it on time! Please kami- sama and any other '- sama's' in the world, I beg of you with all my heart.

I turned the corner of the school and my heart jumped for joy, I was so~ close. My classroom window was just… right… there.

As soon as I jumped though the window, I scrambled into my seat…

…I love having the window seat, for more reasons than one…

… Just as the teacher called out, "Zen, Alice."

"Here!" I raised my hand, trying to look as nonchalant and uninterested as possible. Moriyama- sensei gave me a passive glance, before closing his attendance book. Once he turned his attention to the board, I let out a sigh of relief.

I relaxed into my chair to try and catch up on a few hours of sleep when I instinctively caught the finger that was inching towards me. Startled at having actually caught something, I stared at it in confusion. Following the finger to its owner, I smiled slightly. It was the girl who made it her goal to become my friend from the first day I transferred in. She, Matsumoto Yui, was determined to know everything about me.

"Nee nee, why were you so late?" Mastumoto- san asked, staring at me with her abnormally large chocolate brown eyes. "I mean, you are always late but this time you really cut it too close!"

I didn't know how to answer her, knowing that if I did tell her the truth, she'd never believe me anyways.

"It was pretty crazy…" I mumbled, thinking about the breakfast fiasco, then about that… boy…

… Shoot, I should have gotten his name or something…

"Ooo~ I know that look, you're in love~!" Matsumoto- san giggled and I rolled my eyes at her. Since the incident in the cafeteria when I first started talking to her, she was determined to find a love interest for me. "So who is he? Is he a student in the school? Wait, no he can't be. I introduced you to everybody and none of them made you blush like that." Matsumoto- san answered her own question. I wish I could just ignore her, but her attempt at playing detective was funny so I watched a little while longer.

"Was it a boy from another school? It has to be another school… unless… he's older and he already graduated or something!" Yui whispered to me in delight.

As I watched her make a big deal out of nothing, I wondered just why she talked to me. Most of my other classmates ignore me, thinking that I'm some kind of a delinquent for 'dying' my hair. How many times do I have to tell people that this is my natural hair color?! The teachers were worse. At least my fellow classmates backed off after I said that I was born with this hair color. Each teacher, who had me as a student, would call me to their office at the end of _each _lesson and lecture me about my hair, saying that 'such a bright girl shouldn't rebel against her caretaker' or 'such a prospective student should look like she belonged to some color gang.'

Pfft, speaking of color gang… that's what's told to the public, to the civilians who know nothing about Clans, swords or auras. None of these brats know what it's like to _truly live_ out there. To go through each day wondering if you'll live to see the next, to wonder who will be the next to stab you in the back…

I wanted to curse my own luck, to curse the fates that decided that _this_ was the life I have to live. Should I be angry that I had to go through what no other child should? Or should I be happy that despite my circumstances, I am still alive? Tch…

Sighing, I lifted my hand and pretended to shoo away the dark thoughts in my head.

"Ali~ce~~! Are you listening to me?" Matsumoto- san whined when it was obvious that I wasn't paying attention to anything she was saying. Glancing at the girl next me, I wonder if I should say something or if she'll realize that her whisper had already turned into a shout and maybe stop pestering me. Unlikely to happen, but I can always hope.

"Of course I am." I smiled at her.

Satisfied with my answer, she continued daydreaming about my 'supposed' encounter with the love of my life. "Nee nee, did you get cornered by some ruffian and he swooped in and saved you like a knight in shining armor?" She droned on and on, completely forgetting that we were in class and there was an amazingly interesting lesson being taught about potatoes.

"I bet you got into a fight? You look like a fighter… oh my gods; maybe the two of you were like _partners_, fighting crime side by side." Matsumoto Yui punched the air enthusiastically, her eyes twinkling in excitement. Maybe I should mention that he was just a passerby, a really cute passerby… but that was beside the point. Matsumoto- san was so distracting that I, of all people, hadn't noticed that the bell had already rung and we started the second period of the day.

"Mastumoto, continue your delusions outside," Inori- sensei glared at her for interrupting his "oh so interesting" lesson about the history of potatoes. Seriously? Who cares about the history of potatoes? All you need to know about the potato is that (1) you can fry it, (2) you can stir- fry it, (3) you can bake it, and (4) you can eat it. Either way, it ends up in my stomach. What's the point of learning how the potato arrived in Japan? I could care less if it was some kind of a potato fairy that bestowed it upon us.

Winking at me, Yui stood up and walked outside, still mumbling to herself about 'how' I met the one for me.

Sighing, Inori- sensei rubbed his temple and glanced at me, "Zen, follow her since you don't seem to enjoy my lesson either." He pointed to my desk, deprived of the presence of my notebook and textbook.

Rubbing my temples in frustration, the only thought that went through my head was,_ 'Why does this happen to me?'_

"Keep your girlfriend company so she doesn't end up boring the class to sleep with her ongoing fantasies," Sensei nudged to the door, "escorting" me out.

"Don't worry, Sensei," I beamed at him, "Matsumoto- san can't bore your students to sleep because you're already doing a hell of a good job of it." I strolled out the door, but not before turning back and giving an evil smirk that I knew chilled him to his frail, old bones.

"Contain yourself, Zen. You are in school and you are mandated to follow the rules and respect your superiors." He glared at me.

"Demo sensei~ Respect given is respect earned, and you have done nothing to earn my respect." I gave a mock bow and left the classroom.

"Yankee," I heard someone from the front row whisper, glaring at her small, snobby stature, I made a mental note to hack into the school's system later tonight. Have her clean the pool for a week. Too mean? Nah.

"_Act like a normal gir-"_

Forget that shit. I have half a mind to personally show them all the difference between a trained fighter and a delinquent.

I looked around, searching for that mob of auburn brown curls but I couldn't find Yui so I went to the roof and took a nap.

* * *

_I found myself back at the same sea of chaos as before… only now I didn't want to wander. I didn't want to go back to the same scene and witness his-, no our demise… _

_I stooped down to a crouch and wrapped my arms around myself. Breathing out, I could see my own breath… it wasn't as hot as it was before… does that mean that he wasn't burning anymore…_

_Sighing, I rested my head against my arm, hoping that I would hurry and wake up. I hated this dream. I don't want to see it anymore. I wish it would go away…_

…_it didn't go away. Because I didn't walk to the dream, it came to me. I raised my head, already panting from the lack of oxygen in the air and reeled back as the same lone red haired man stood in front of me. His hand was burning, again. Only this time, he saw me…_

_Not a single word was spoken between us… but it felt like he… _understood?_ He stretched out his red aura- coated hand in a gesture to 'shake'._

_Seeing my own King do this numerous times before, I shook my head. I didn't need another King. Despite the migraines that Shogo- san gives me… he was the one I was indebted to… him and Meru._

_Frowning, he thrust his hand out again, closer to me, this time. Once again, I shook my head for no._

"_Why not?" the Red King asked._

"_Because I'm-" I stared to say but the dream already changed. Instead of the barren land, I was now sitting on a very cozy… warm bed…, oh gods it was so FLUFFY!_

_I had to restrain myself from jumping on it to confirm its extreme softness._

"_What are you doing?"_

_I immediately froze, slowly I turned my head to where I heard the voice and there… eh? There wasn't anyone talking to me… all I could see was a mannequin, albeit a beautiful one draped on a chair in the corner. In front of it were a table and a map… and several red marbles that glided on top of it._

"_I asked what are you doing?"_

_I clamped my mouth shut to stop from screaming, t-the m-mannequin spoke… I-it was turning its head towards me and staring at me with its eyes._

"_I'm not a mannequin."_

_Oh no, no no no no no… my head is definitely playing tricks on me… There is no way a mannequin can talk and so there is definitely no way it can read my mind._

"_I'm not a mannequin, I'm not an 'it', I have a name and I am not reading your mind. You just said it all out loud."_

_At it-, err… _her _next words, my eyebrows furrowed together and I stopped to observe the girl. She was a pretty little thing, with snow white hair and reddish purple eyes, she was a true beauty._

"_What's your name?" I asked; all pretense of fear gone now that I know this was a living, breathing girl and not some kind of a sick joke my mind played on me._

"_Anna. Kushina Anna. And yours?"_

"_Alice. Zen Alice. Pleased to meet you." I smiled and stretched out my hand. She looked at it curiously but took it anyways. She stared at our holding hands as if she expected something to happen._

"_So… why did you contact me? This is your dream, right?" I asked._

"_Hn…" Anna nodded, bringing her gaze from my hand to my eyes. The longer she stared, the more vulnerable I felt. Tearing my gaze from hers, I suddenly had a bad feeling as a chill slipped down my spine._

"_Gomen… I didn't mean it. It's a habit to slip in…" Anna muttered quietly._

"_O-oh… habit? Y-you're a strain?" I rasped, the feeling of being read, poked and prodded still lingered on my skin, until recognition filled me, "Is that why you contacted me? You're a strain and you need help?!"_

"_Eh? No." Anna said, surprised at my sudden outburst._

_I backed down, "Oh… then why…"_

"_Don't be afraid… we only want to-"_

_Whatever Anna was going to say next… I didn't hear it, because the scene had changed again. Only now, my surroundings were pitch black. The lack of fresh air was evident as it grew harder for me to breathe in the putrid smell of piss and vomit. Stone walls were encased all around me and a fresh wave of nostalgia came to…_

…_not the good kind where I would reminiscence the brighter parts of my childhood, but the ones that carried a tell tale sign of fear…_

_This time it really was a dream… another vision…_

_If I wanted to know why… I would have to find the one who contacted me… the one that needed my help…_

_I was trying not to shudder as step by step, I walked deeper into the cavern. It wasn't until I was well within the underground cavern that I released my green aura. Wrapping it around me, I created a thin layer of the green flame and suddenly I could see. _

… _And, truly, I wish I couldn't._

_In front of me were bodies, more bodies that I could count with a single glance… and they were all… children._

_I froze where I stood, unable to take another step as the cavern suddenly seemed much too small…_

_Dark images plagued my mind, images of what might have been done to these children… images of what was done…_

…_to me._

Hands griped around my ankles and I let out another silent scream. "See boss," a deep voice growled in delight, "This one is strong, this one will live… this one will be _worth the wait_."

I had long since resigned to my fate. I knew that this was where I would die; only I had hoped it would not be at their hands. I asked- no I begged Kara to kill me while they hadn't touched me. If they did… I knew that they would definitely break me.

Kara shook her head, no. And I cried a dejected scream. What was the point? Kara said I was strong so they couldn't break me so easily… but she was wrong… she was the strong one, she was the one who whispered stories, dreams of being saved, of living under the sun, again. She was optimistic to a fault but she was why I hadn't already given up. Even when the others slowly dropped dead, she never faltered… she continued to tell us dreams of a knight who'll come to save the weak…

"_O-onee s-san…"_

_Snapping out of my flashback, I had to re- adjust my green aura so that I could see within the cavern once more._

_With dirty blond hair matted with blood to the side of his head, a boy barely older then twelve, reached out to me._

"_O-onee s-san…" he rasped, again. I nodded, unable to speak. "O-onee s-san, h-help m-m-me… h-help u-us…" His arm plopped back to the ground and I promised to come back, not one child deserved this fate. No one…_

_With a renewed resolve, I turned around and walked out of the cavern. I made sure to memorize my surroundings so that I'll be able to get back here…_

_Above the cavern was a luxurious tall building. One glance out of the window, and I already knew that I was still in Shizune City. One look to the right and I could make out the outline of a western styled, two story building. _

_Tch… Scepter 4… of course it would be close to Scepter 4 and still be fully functional. Their officials were too busy picking fights with Homra and trying to get minors to go to school that they fucking overlooked this disgusting child trafficking system going on._

_Fuck._

_I walked out of the building and turned back to get a good look at it. It was a large building and its sleek gray color reminds me of a tombstone. Above it was a large neon sign, with…_

**IZUMI CORPS.**

…_written on it. I shook my head in disgust. Underneath the guise of a company that specialized in the construction of various gadgets and electronics, it dealt in a repulsive trade that was banned years ago._

_This stinks… why do I always have to deal with the scum of society. Oh, I know why! Because I'm the only one who wanted to do something about it, I'm the one who wants to stop, I'm the one who cares about the others who went through this petrifying experience, _I thought wryly,_ No one else wants to admit that their world isn't the happy place they have always thought it to be…_

* * *

"-ce! Alice! Come on, wake up, it's already lunchtime!"

"Eh?" my eyes snapped open only to be shut again as I cringed from the light… and it's cold, why is it so cold? "What happened?" I murmured groggily, rubbing my eyes.

"Jeez…" something sighed and walked towards me, my muscles tensed, waiting for the right time to attack and run away. Imagine my surprise when it wasn't a fist to the face that I received but a hard pinch on my left cheek.

"O-o-o-o-o-o-owwww~! What was that for Mer-," *cough cough* "Matsumoto- san!" I sat up and blinked repeatedly at her.

"First, it's not Matsumoto- san, it's Yui. Second, Mer? Who's this Mer? That boy who made you late this morning?!" Mastsum-, I mean Yui- san asked, jumping around excitedly.

Groaning, I glanced around, taking in my surroundings. I hadn't realized that I was on the roof but then I remembered Inori-sensei. And then, I went looking for Yui- san and fell asleep on the roof. After that… _shit…_

My mood darkened instantly, if Yui noticed than she hadn't said a thing. I have a lot of paperwork and planning ahead if I wanted to help those children. Tch… paperwork, it's all because of that Gold King, Daikaku Kokujoji, if it weren't for him demanding the proper paperwork and procedure for a 'mission', I would have already left school and gone to trash Izumi Corps…

But since I cant… I brought my mind back to the rooftop and Yui- san's awkward delusions of what hadn't happened… But damn… I didn't really think that I would actually fall to sleep… damn… I hope I don't catch a cold…

"Matsum-"

"Yui," she interrupted me.

"Yui- san, please… there was no fated encounter or something like that… I just… helped a pregnant lady to the hospital." I sighed, wishing that I could have thought of a better lie… but I hope it will do.

"Oh… you should have told me that before I made such a big scene!" Yui- san whined, "You know you should wake up earlier and come to school earlier but… I guess if you did, then that lady would have been in a big pinch."

My jaw dropped in disbelief. She bought my story… she believed in that small lie of mine…

…

There was an awkward silence as Yui pulled out her lunch box and handed me mine, as well. "On my way here, I picked it up from the classroom," Yui added when I raised my eyebrow.

Muttering thanks, I dug into my meal.

"School passed rather quickly today…" was my pathetic attempt at starting a conversation.

Yui made a face at me, "I don't get how you manage to place first in all of the mock exams when all you do is sleep in school…" Yui grumbled and I shrugged…

Math was easy, it was all about logic and full of numbers. Japanese literature? I can read hiragana and katakana so I'm good. History? Human nature is predictable and redundant so… Science? I know my own body and how it functions… and mixing various chemicals together and blowing up the school is a prospect that I am definitely looking forward to. English? I'm fluent in it and a few other languages so it's no biggie~…

"Meh," I shrugged instead.

Another moment of silence passed before Yui spoke, "Oh! Did you hear about what happened last night?"

"Last night?" I asked wondering just what she was talking about. The only thing that happened last night… was the clash between Homra, Scepter 4 and the Green Clan's renegade…

"Yeah… Shizune City was being lit up by red, blue and green flames. It was so pretty but… it was really odd… Do you know about the color kings?"

My lunch suddenly turned cold. It was one thing to think the brawls were fireworks or something but it was a completely different from the idea of the color king. I found it harder to breathe when Yui looked like she was watching my every move. I plastered on a fake smile and asked, "Why do you ask?"

"I've seen them round sometimes when I go shopping. Especially the ones with the Red King. And the Blue King is pretty well known since he's basically running the city's police force. So what's with all of that?" Yui asked.

"Maybe they're c-cosplaying?" I choked.

"And those colors… ummm, what were they called? Alla? Aula?"

My smile was waning and I croaked, "H- hallucination? Computer graphics? Special Effects? Come on, grow up… people can't suddenly sprout flames from their hands," I tried to laugh it off jokingly. If she was so curious about Homra and Scepter 4, then how is she going to react when she finds out that I'm a part of Sleeping Forest… no, she won't find out… I am not going to let her find out… I really don't want her to find out…

Yui opened her mouth to say more when the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period and we had to return to our afternoon classes. I bolted out of the rooftop at the first chance I got, which happened as Yui stopped moving when the bell rang and I ran all the way back to the my seat.

When Yui came in, I was already seated and staring out of the window. The first time I stole a glance at her, she was staring intently at the back of my head. Her face spoke volumes about the questions she wanted to ask, the questions I really didn't want to answer.

Hahaha~… this is going to be a very, long afternoon…

* * *

**Homra**

"Ah," Anna gasped, waking up from her afternoon nap.

"Hn? What happened, Anna?" Kusanagi Izumo smiled from behind the bar counter. After Suoh Mikoto's shocking announcement, he went back to the second floor of the bar and shut himself in his room. Most of Homra's members were all crowded in the bar, waiting for their King to show himself or for his next orders, be they to catch the girl and bring her here or leave her alone.

"It got cut off…" Anna muttered, staring at her hand, which, in contrast to the rest of her body, was still quite warm.

"Nani~? Who got cut?" Totsuka Tatara asked merrily, walking down from the second floor of the Homra bar.

"Saa~," Kusanagi- san shrugged, "Where's Mikoto?" He asked, re- polishing all of his glasses, trying to make them shine to their fullest.

"Brooding that his adorable little sister is in the city and didn't come to find him," Totsuka said, smiling, his eyes were almost brimming with tears which showed just what kind of a mood their Red King was in.

Totsuka- san sat down on the stool next to Anna, and rubbed his head where Mikoto had held him in an iron grip. "Anna."

"Hn?" She peered up, staring at him with her emotionless gaze.

"You shouldn't sleep like that. You should sleep on your bed. Besides, you'll scare away Izumo- kun's customers, like those couples who thought you were a mannequin until you started moving." Totsuka- san smiled, patting Anna's head.

"She thought I was a mannequin, too. Do I look like one?" Anna asked.

"Only because you're so pretty and flawless," Totsuka smiled, emitting stars. "Wait… she?"

"Hn… our connection was cut." Anna nodded.

"Connection… to who? King?" Totsuka asked. Kusanagi slowed his polishing pace as so he won't miss anything that Anna says.

"My connection… to Alice Zen…"

"Eh?! You managed to connect to her? How?" Yata shouted, jumping up from the end of the couch that he was sitting on.

"Sit down, you Chihuahua," Eric muttered absentmindedly, but to anyone who knew him well, namely Fujishima Kousuke, who smiled at Eric's attempt to lighten the bar's atmosphere, and aggravate Homra's vanguard. It's like killing two birds with a stone.

"What the hell did you say?" Yata shouted, pissed off by Eric's comment. Kamamoto stood up and tried to pacify the skateboarder, to no success.

"Ya~ ta~ - chan~" A vein popped on Kusanagi's forehead, his hands were straining from the effort to not break his precious glasses. "Sit down, let Anna speak and don't you dare damage this bar that I purchased overseas." Kusanagi smiled, sending chills down everyone's backs.

"My dream connected to Alice Zen's," Anna started but Totsuka interrupted her.

"I thought you had to know the person well to connect into their dreams…"

Anna nodded, "Hn… She was in Mikoto's dream first… then I found her and she came into mine."

"Eh?"

"K-kusanagi- san… is that how it all works?" Yata asked, relatively quieter, from his seat on the couch.

"Saa~" Kusanagi shrugged, the existence of strains was a big mystery, itself. Some people say they were just errors… that their powers resulted from the leakage of power from the Slate. Others say that they were just 'those who could not become Kings'.

"What happened next?" Yata urged Anna to continue.

Anna shrugged, "She was there, we talked, she told me she was Alice Zen and then she was gone…"

"Seriously…" Kamamoto mused, scratching his head, "Isn't it strange though, she appears in your dream just as soon as we learned of her."

A dark mood descended on Homra's members as each of them wandered just what kind of a girl she was.

"Ah."

"Hn? What is it, Anna?" Kusanagi asked.

"She was wearing a school uniform, the one on the island." Anna replied.

"The one on the island?" Chitose repeated.

"But that place…" Dewa mumbled.

"Anasaki High School, right?" Yata shouted in excitement.

"It's _Ashinaka_, you dolt," Fushimi sighed, a mask of perpetual monotony settled on his face, though he was secretly curious about the girl.

"Wha-" Yata Misaki growled in indignation.

"Well… what are we waiting for, should we bring her here?" Dewa asked.

"Demo~ King hasn't said anything yet…" Totsuka mumbled.

"Let's go get her anyways!" Yata yelled, grabbing his skateboard and Fushimi and left Homra's bar.

"Kamamoto, you go too," Kusanagi ordered.

"Hai sir," Kamamoto saluted and ran outside to follow Yata and Fushimi. "O-oi, Yata- san, wait for me~"

"So, what was she like?" Totsuka asked Anna, who was staring at Kamamoto's retreating figure like she had also wanted to go with him.

"Warm…" Anna whispered, pressing her hand against her cheek, it was still warm.

"Eh… so does that mean that she's a good person," Chitose voiced.

"She asked if I needed help," Anna continued.

Dewa choked, "She asked if _you_ needed help?!" He exclaimed incredulously.

Anna shook her head, "She thought I was in trouble and asked if I needed help, if I was the one who called her…"

"Eh? Doesn't that sound like people visit her dreams often? Is she one of those 'sensitive' people?" Totsuka mumbled to himself.

"What if she's a strain?" Kusanagi added.

"She's not a strain, she's like a strain…" Anna insisted, her facial expression had not changed but her eyes were ablaze with indisputable certainty.

* * *

"Alice~ you know something about the color kings, don't you?" Yui whined.

"Of course I don't, why would I know?" I sighed, pulling on my shoes and slipping the *****uwabaki slippers back into my small cubby locker.

"Saa! Demo~ you seem like you would know a lot about this stuff. Like you're a big part of it…" Yui trailed off.

I smiled a bit sadly, "I wish I wasn't a part of it…"

"…wait, so you are? I was just kidding but…" Yui's eyes widened.

"Scared?"

"N-no, of course not!" Yui cried angrily.

"That's too bad, cause' you should be," I smiled and turned to walk away, not even looking back once to see if she was following or not. Saa… did I just chase away my only friend? Whatever, I'm not here to make memories or to have fun, anyways…

I got on the first train back to Shizune City and mentally ran through my to- do list, making sure there wasn't a single thing that I could have forgotten to do. Not to mention… I have to fill out a request for a mission to be able to "legally" devastate Izumi Corps, so Scepter 4 don't come a calling.

Let's see… wait till Amai Daichi shows himself and take down his faction, submit the report and wait for the Gold King's approval and then take down Izumi Corps, and get those kids out of there. After I get them out, I have to make sure their fine and see if there are any lasting injuries and enroll them in school and see if I could find them families to take them in…

Shoot…

If Meru finds out that, even after I basically promised to put finding Mikoto last on my things to do… I still have a lot on my mind, don't I?

Why am I the one who has to do so much?

* * *

**I'd like to apologize beforehand if for any OOC- ness of the characters. **

***_uwabaki slippers* _These are the slippers you wear inside the school building.**

**Any review is greatly appreciated and helps keep me motivated! Any questions is welcome~ I know the dream scene was a bit weird, or at least that was how i felt... but soon, it will soon make sense...**

**Until next time! Ciao.**

**- xxtoushirou**


	4. Clash

**Welcome, welcome, welcome! Hope you're happy to see me!**

**Big THANKS to Azalie-Kauriu, tohru15, Guest, explow, and cupquake for the reviews! I swear I woke up happy that morning, seeing the awesome reviews! I even went to school happy, and knowing school... that was a first!**

**Another round of THANKS to anyone who follow/ favorite my story! And if you can, please leave a review as well! (~.)~**

**To Azalie-Kauriu: Sibling stuff will come soon, next chapter maybe... but it won't be sunshine and rainbows :D**

**To tohru15: I used google translate... and, if google didnt translate wrong, I completely agree and that's why Yata's so awesome!**

**To Guest: hehehe, thanks... your making me blush... I can't wait for the romance to start either... but it will definitely take a while... probably.**

**To explow: Honestly, I'm updating as fast as I can... I'll try but... homework may be a pain in my arse, but i still have to do it. All for the good of the future... *sigh***

**To cupquake: Thanks for your kind words! And I know what you mean~ All my favorite stories take forever to update but when they do... (I do the happy dance) and it is so worth it!**

**Disclaimer: Misaki~ I wish I owned a Misaki body pillow... I wished I owned a lot of things... but sadly, I only own Alice, Meru, Green King, Daichi, Yui and some others...**

**Please review! Hope you enjoy it! *(^o^)***

* * *

**Chapter 4: Clash**

**Homra**

"Tch. Oi, Saruhiko, are we really in front of the right station?" Yata groaned.

"Che," Fushimi clicked his tongue annoyingly, "You said you saw her here…" Fushimi pointed to the wall in front of the station that they were in.

"Un." Yata nodded.

"…and when a bell rang, she cursed and ran away…?" Fushimi continued.

"Un…," Yata nodded hesitantly, "But what does that have anything to do with-"

"And Anna even said that she was wearing the uniform from this school, thus _going _to this school, so stop complaining every two minutes. Her classes probably didn't even ended yet, Mi saa ki~"

"Hahh?! Who are you calling 'Mi saa ki'? How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Misaki!" Yata growled, trying his best to imitate the way Fushimi calls his name.

"Y-yata- san, calm down, look the first train just came back," Kamamoto panted, finally catching up to the other two.

A crowd of students emerged from the train. Yata was straining his neck, trying to see above the crowd of people, trying to find that mob of red hair he saw this morning.

"Heh," Fushimi smirked, "167 cm."

"Hah?! What did you say?" Yata growled, his hands already balling into fists.

"Nothing." Fushimi smirked again and placed his hand on top of Yata's head and patted him, "167 cm."

"Teme…" Yata spat, a faint trail of red flared around him.

"Yata- san, stop, look… is that her?" Kamamoto said, still panting. Yata's gaze trailed over the heads of teens until it stopped on a very familiar head of red.

_Turn around_, Yata thought, wanting to make sure that it really was the girl.

And when she did, There's no doubt about it, it really was that girl… but her eyes, instead of shining brightly, like it did in the morning…

…now, it was clouded and dark, like she had lost all hope in the world.

"Yup… that's her…" Yata muttered, still watching her as she asked another girl for her phone and dialed in a number.

"You don't sound so sure," Kamamoto commented.

"She's not… as happy?" Yatan murmured.

"Tch," Fushimi clicked his tongue in frustration, "Is it her or not?"

"Y-yeah…" Yata replied, "Yeah." Yata decided and worked his way through the crowd till he was standing right behind her.

"Hn… so then, see you at home," the girl, that was probably Alice, said into the phone and handed it back to the brunette, with olive colored eyes, that she borrowed it from.

"See you tomorrow, Zen- san" she smiled and waved goodbye to her.

"Hn, arigatou Yukizome- san."

The brunette shook her head, "Just call me Kukuri, since we are classmates after all." And she left.

"Oi," Yata called out, when she didn't turn around, he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.

Surprised, she stared at Yata for a few moments till recognition filled her eyes. "You're-," she managed to say before glancing behind him. At that moment, her eyes widened.

"Zen, Alice…?" Yata asked.

Her irises dilated and her gaze hardened. She did not nod nor did she shake her head… instead, she did the one thing Yata had not seen coming… not at all…

She brought her knee up and kneed him in the groin. When he doubled over in pain, she grabbed a fistful of Yata's hair and introduced his face to her knee. When a satisfying crack was heard, the girl smirked, _Broke that bastard's nose…_

Snapping backwards from the impact, Yata stumbled into a group of boys, who hurriedly scurried out of his way.

"Yata- san?!" Kamamoto shouted, running towards Homra's vanguard, searching for injuries. But before he could get there, Alice appeared before him.

Grabbing at his jacket with both hands, she threw him like a javelin. Behind her, Fushimi stood in shock and melted back into the crowd of students that gathered and watched till she ran away, before checking up on Yata.

"Looks like you're gin to need some help to bring her in… hn, Misaki~" Fushimi smirked, watching Yata turn his glare on him.

"I don't want to hear that from the one who didn't even try to catch her," Yata groaned, "Where's Kamamoto?" Yata tried to nurse his, obviously broken, nose.

"Tch, she threw him into the water," Fushimi glanced over the bridge.

Yata's eyes widened and he peered over the edge as well, "Can he swim?" Yata asked.

"I heard that fat people could float…" Fushimi added and the two of them shrugged and ran in the direction Alice ran in. Somehow… they were even more determined to catch the girl.

* * *

**Earlier That Afternoon…**

"Gurgh.. I feel sick…" I muttered to myself, glaring at the body packed train I just got off of…. And suddenly, I remember why I hated crowds. The stupid train smelled like sweat and people… it was so musty and made it hard for me to breathe. I am definitely going to make that Blue suffer for what he (albeit indirectly) is putting me through.

Not to mention the fact that I didn't have my PDA on me so I had a hard time getting off of the island, which resulted in a ten minute heated argument with the head of security. Jeez… If I had a penny for every _idiot_ in the world…

Can you believe it? Just moments before I had to leave the school… I finally realized that I didn't have my PDA on me. I only realized it now, when I was about to leave since I hadn't needed it in the morning. I had jumped over the wall that surrounded the school and made my way around by swinging through the trees. I can't believe I actually left it at home; I always carried it on me in case I get an emergency call from Meru.

At least Meru had me memorize the school's layout… so I knew that door near the entrance that could get me in and out of the school without an ID. Luckily, the door wasn't locked and I managed to get out… otherwise… I would have never been able to get off of this damn island.

… '_Ah… I should probably call Meru and tell her to go to the Gold King's tower and get the mission finalized and approved so we could go tonight.'_

Absentmindedly, I reached into my pocket to grab my phone to call Meru… but then I remembered… I left it at home… damn it…

Sighing, my mood darkened… even more than before. I really hadn't wanted to go all the way to the Gold's tower, if I could help it. I dreaded even going near that place ever since the Gold King had entreated me to become a gold clansman… needless to say I refused… not to mention, he can't have been happy being denied a clansman when he's considered 'the big guy' in charge of protecting the Slate.

Meru understands a little bit, although her parents were green clansmen before her so Sleeping Forest was the only clan that she had ever gotten close to, so she tries to come up with excuses as to why I couldn't be bothered to show up when the Gold, himself, ordered my presence to be present. She tries not to lie to the Gold, but sometimes it's inevitable. Attending school has only one benefit that I could think of- it had definitely been easier for her to make excuses now since I'm _actually _preoccupied…

Sighing, I lifted my head up and began to scour my surroundings… and then I saw that girl… Yukizome, or something like that. She was one of Yui's friends that thought I wasn't half- bad and even tried to get along with me. I walked up to her and smiled sweetly, asking, "Can I borrow your PDA? I left mine at ho-, I mean, mine died… batteries dead, I mean." Can't let her know I left mine at home, and then she would have had so many questions about how I couldn't have left the school without it.

She looked confused for a second before giggling, "Sure." She reached into her pocket and handed me her PDA.

"Thanks," I smiled genuinely this time, and dialed in Meru's number, "Oi, Meru… I need you to do me a favor… No, you are not jumping off of a bridge… when have I ever asked you to do that?!... It was a _joke_! A worst case scenario thing… Oh gosh, Meru, just shut up and let me talk… Jeez, I had another dream and I need you to go to the Tower… _*rolling eyes*_ Yes, another one… I DON'T _KNOW_ WHY THERE ARE SO MANY FUCKING BASTARDS WITH A DAMN PENCHANT FOR- … oh, by the kings, Shut it Meru!... Hai, hai… Hn… so then, see you at home," I ended the call, taking a few seconds to delete the number from Yukizome- san's call history and handed it back to her. Ye gods… how I managed to get a migraine just by talking to her… sometimes I do wonder if King and Meru were somewhat related… same psychotic cousin, maybe.

"See you tomorrow, Zen- san," she smiled and waved goodbye to me.

"Hn… arigatou Yukizome- san," I said.

Yukizome- san shook her head, "Just call me Kukuri, since we're classmates after all." She smiled and waved goodbye again, and she left before I could say anything else.

Shrugging, I turned and walked away as well.

"Oi…"

A voice came behind me. Was it for me? Nah, no one here wants to talk to a _Yankee_. At least, that was what I thought before a hand gripped my shoulder and spun me around before I could register what had just happened. Stared at the owner of the hand, that was still gripping my shoulder, wondering if he got the wrong person. The poor guy probably feels embarrassed. I'm pretty sure no one likes to admit that they've been trying to grab the attention of the wrong person-, or so I though… his eyes hadn't wavered so I guess he found the right person… but why me? I hadn't done anythi-

…

…

…

… OH! This was the guy that I bumped into this morning. _Bump? I was thinking more… flatten…_

Oh shut up, me.

Hearing footsteps behind the guy, I glanced over his shoulder and my eyes widened when I saw another two figures trying to make their way through the crowd.

"Zen Alice…" The guy asked- no he didn't ask a question…. he knew who I was… he was only confirming it.

Shit… don't tell me he's mafia or the yakuza or something…

I haven't blown anything up lately, so why would anyone be trying to find me… unless, shit… Izumi Corps? Shit.

I felt my pulse quicken as the world around me began to fade. _All I could seem to remember were those rough, calloused hands that would pull me from the cell they kept me in. If I resisted, then that man would have opted to pulling me by my hair. Those people would strap me to a gurney and I would have felt a prick as some kind of liquid was injected into me. For hours on an end, they would observe me, watching as their new combination of chemicals tore me up inside_.

My breathing hitched and I did the one thing that kept me alive for so long… I fought.

* * *

I was halfway across the city, when a crashing sound echoed behind me.

"Hora~!" The chestnut haired boy bellowed as charged at me on his skateboard.

I dodged him with as little movement as possible, and ducked away from his swinging bat but then a hand grabbed at me from behind. I twirled from his reach and brought my foot up and aimed a high kick to his temple.

He caught my foot and somehow… I got angrier and angrier at his stupid smirk and those stupid glasses.

Spinning my whole body, I brought my other foot up and managed to land the kick he avoided earlier. Reeling back from the impact, I flipped backwards a few times before standing upright, surrounded by a group of angry looking men. Two of them I recognized from when I broke the skateboarder's nose and the other one… I had just kicked.

Glaring at each of them, I wondered which one was in charge… but it didn't look like there was anyone particularly in charge. Not to mention, none of them seemed to think that it was necessary for all of them to be here to capture me. Tch… I'll prove them all wrong.

I leaned into a crouch and burst into a sprint as soon the one, with the derby hat, in front of me glanced at the others. Folding my fingertips against my bottom knuckles, I used my palm to strike his nose, causing the blood to flow profusely. His square glasses broke into pieces and I watched as some of the others stood still in shock and the rest grew more and more furious.

"Dewa- san!"

"D-Dewa? Oi!"

"W-what the hell?! What just happened?!"

'_Heh… that's right. Get all riled up, this way it'll be easier for me to pick you off, one by one.'_

I threw out every trick and maneuver that had Meru taught me but they just kept on coming and coming. I suppose I got them way too riled up, but its better this way. Their intentions are showing on their faces and they're more prone to make some kind of a mistake. Even though, I was itching to pull out my favorite Daito Katana but if I did then it would be more than likely that they'll follow up by bringing out their own weapons. Though, they were already wielding bats and other blunt objects… I hope that guy with the glasses, not the one I just face palmed, wouldn't bring out those throwing knives of his. He planned to… but one of the others yelled about damaging my pretty face. If I kept this brawl weapon- less than he won't bring it out either. After all… it would be much too shameful if they had to win against me, against a little girl, by pulling a sharp weapon on me… probably.

When someone slung their arms around my neck and held me in a chokehold, I slammed my head back; breaking his nose, but somehow… he was still holding on. Clicking my tongue, I slipped my hands behind his neck; our position would have looked quite romantic… if only his blood wasn't everywhere… if only I wasn't trying everything to get out of his "embrace", and I used his own body weight to flip him over me.

"Ah! San- chan!"

I turned my head to face the voice and found a guy with straw colored hair and brown eyes, wearing a black cap with a flame pattern and the letters 'HMR' on it. The sleeves of his red jacket were rolled up to his elbows and he just stared back at me wide eyed. He was gripping a metal rod but looked reluctant to use it. Luckily for me, he was standing close enough that in less than three strides, I was right in front of him. Dropping to a crouch, I swung out my legs, successfully throwing him out of balance and I followed it up with a strike to his solar plexus. And down he went.

"Shohei- san!"

"Oi oi, why is she so strong?!"

"More like… why is a little girl dominating us in a fight?!"

Their voices held an edge of panic and I smiled, knowing exactly what I may have caused to their self confidence and esteem.

'_That's right little bastards, keep on underestimating me. I'm never going to let you capture me. I'd rather die!'_ I spat the blood that cumulated in my mouth on the ground. My cheek felt swollen, probably a really colorful bruise and my arms were sore from the times they tried to pin them to my back. I think a few of my ribs might be fractured but I don't think any of them were broken… or sticking out of my skin.

Staring at their weary forms in front of me, I had a sneaking suspicion that they were holding back. There was no way a group of eight men, though one or two may look like their fresh from high school, would only amount to this much… they can't be using all of their strength. It was eight- on- one and they had the advantage… they were holding back… but why?

'_Course they're holding back. No one wants a damaged product…'_ I thought snidely. But they'll start to get serious soon… I need to get out of this dilemma.

I bent over and tapped the soles of my shoes and while I waited for them to charge, my gaze never trailed far from theirs. I suppose they all came to some sort of a mutual understanding and so they all rushed at me… every single one of them… it was like World War III, but with me as the common enemy.

I grabbed the wrist of one of the blonds, the one with the white and blue hoodie, and used him as a shield. Still holding onto him, I spun with my right leg as a pivot and made them all take back a step, making some room around me. And from there, I kicked him away and lashed out with my arm and leg, elbow and knee, with every chance and opening I could find. It was crude form of Muy Thai but it'll have to do here.

I was more than relief when a quiet *beep beep beep* alerted me that my shoes were fully charged and ready for use. Tapping the soles of my shoes together, I felt them hum to life. Smirking at the mess I made around me, I winked and called out a "Ciao~", like we just finished playing some game, and proceeded to jump into the air and away I went.

* * *

'_Gosh!'_ Alice thought, whimpering in delight as the wind blew through her hair, _'It's been so long since I jumped so high. It was like flying… but better!'_ Below her, those men were shouting in disbelief. They had underestimated her and she managed to beat most of them up and … she got away!

Jumping up and around, scaling the walls of the buildings… Alice loved the moments of freedom that it brought her, but it was all much too short.

All too soon, she had already arrived at home and stepped in through the balcony.

_I have to get cleaned up before Meru sees me._

Alice sneaked into the bathroom, sighing with relief as she locked the door behind her, glad that she wasn't seen. Shrugging off her blood stained uniform, none of which belonged to her, and Alice threw them into a pile in the corner of the bathroom and burned them to ashes. She stepped into the shower and as the steaming hot water battered against her sore body, she just stopped thinking, letting the tension leave her body.

When Alice got out of the shower, she glanced at herself in the mirror, Alice gasped in disbelief. Her swollen cheek was seriously bruised and it already turned to an indigo purple color. Tenderly touching her cheek, Alice cringed at the thought of the amount of concealer she'll have to use to get by school normally. But forget school tomorrow… how she'll manage tonight is the real question…

From the moment they entered the City, Meru had made it clear to stay away from trouble… she also said to stay away from Homra and Scepter 4, in case they recognize her as one of Sleeping Forest before they manage to detain the renegade green clansmen. The Green Clan's insignia on her left shoulder would have been a dead giveaway but it was usually covered by her school uniform or the black, long sleeved button up she usually wears.

If Meru sees this bruise… ah hell, forget living long enough to find my brother… I might not even live to be sixteen. Shuddering, Alice slipped her blue donkey, Eeyore, t- shirt and yellow duckie shorts on and cracked open the door slowly. Peering into the hallway, Alice sighed with relief when there was no one in sight.

Alice slipped out into the hallway and tiptoed to her bedroom. To her relief, Alice had managed to reach her bedroom without much trouble. Her towel still draped around her shoulders, Alice continued to dry her hair… her right hand conveniently covered her bruised cheek… when someone cleared their throat behind her.

* * *

**Homra**

The tension between the Homra members was rising as none of them wanted to report what had happened. Homra's second, Kusanagi Izumo, leaned against his bar, silent as he took a long drag on his cigarette. After another moment of awkward silence, Kusanagi stubbed out his cigarette on his ashtray, which was already half full.

"If none of you will talk, then I'll start asking the questions," Kusanagi smiled, the temperature within the bar had dropped a few degrees despite the warm wind blowing outside. "First. Yata- chan."

"H- hai, K- Kusanagi- san!" Yata stuttered, raising his hand like he was still in middle school.

"What. Happened?" Kusanagi raised an eyebrow, staring expectantly at Yata over his purple lens glasses.

"W-well, she… beat us up… and she threw Kamamoto into the water…" Yata stammered, even as he said it… a touch of disbelief clouded his words.

"Hn? Problem is… just how did a fifteen year old girl end up besting and outsmarting men ten years her age?" Kusanagi asked.

"The girl went crazy as soon as Misaki talked to her," Fushimi added nonchalantly, but even he felt like Zen Alice had damaged his ego. When a tug on his pants led his gaze down, he stared into a red marble and behind them were reddish purple irises. The whole room quieted, watching Anna as she poked through Fushimi's memories. When Anna lowered her marbles, Fushimi tore his gaze away, like he couldn't get away fast enough.

Anna, silently, walked over to the couch where Homra's vanguard was sitting in.

"N- nandarou?" Yata questioned, uncomfortably.

"… Baka." Anna said, bluntly.

"Eh?"

"If you were a girl and a group of men went after you, what would you have thought?" Anna asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Eh? What does that have to do with-… oh," Yata's eyes widened, "But she kneed me first!"

"She was nice until she saw others behind you…" Anna added, not once during the conversation had she tore her gaze from Yata. Yata squirmed around awkwardly, trying to think of something to defend his case.

"Then, you're saying that she didn't really mean to nearly put half of Homra in the hospital?" Kusanagi raised an eyebrow, gesturing to Kamamoto (who still looked like a drowned rat), Eric (whose upper body was wrapped in bandages), Bando and Dewa (whose whole head was wrapped like a mummy), Shoehi (who winced whenever he had to move, even a single movement caused pain to ripple through his whole body) and more than half of them were nursing broken noses.

Anna nodded, "She's a nice person…"

"…"

"Maybe I should go…" Anna added. Before anyone could make a single noise of protest, a loud crack and a whoosh of flames could be heard upstairs.

Kusanagi paled at the thought of the damage the Red King had created this time.

"Ah! King! Kusanagi- san won't be happy with that hole in the wall!" Totsuka smirked, running down the stairs, still smiling every step of the way. "It worked," Totsuka laughed, flashing a thumb up at the bartender. When thundering footsteps could be heard on the stairs, Totsuka hurriedly ran and hid behind Kusanagi. When Suoh Mikoto walked into the room, Kusanagi sweat dropped as he realized he was stuck between a very angry Red King and a very _happy_ Totsuka.

Shaking his head at the weakest member of Homra, Kusanagi thought,_ 'Only you, Totsuka… only you…'_

* * *

**I'd like to apologize beforehand for any OOC- ness of the characters. This is just how they act in the fantasies in my head.**

**Any review is greatly appreciated and helps keep me motivated! Any questions is welcome~ though, even I'm trying to figure out just what I'm trying to say...**

**Alice's past will come to light in the next few chapters, and I'll kickstart the beginning of an awkward, but continually building connection between everyone's favorite Red King and the Nightingale. **

**And... how was that for a first meeting? I hope I did a good job at surprising you!**

**Until Next Time! Ciao.**

**- xxtoushirou**


	5. Anna

**Hope you're happy to see me! Happy Mother's Day to anyone who's out there celebrating and grateful for their mothers. **

**Big THANKS to Gorelotte, Haruko Takahashi, tohru15, Mirei-Chan and Azalie-Kaurir for the reviews! I can face school tomorrow, knowing that I'll probably die happy.**

**Another round of THANKS to anyone who follow/ favorite my story! And if you can, please leave a review as well! (~^.^)~**

**To Gorelotte: Hehehe~ I seriously had fun with Totsuka... he is the best, after Misaki of course!**

**To Haruko Tokahashi: Thanks, and honestly, I can't imagine K without even the tiniest bit of comedy, I'm glad I could make it better to read.**

**To tohru15: I used google translate, again... but... are you talking about Yata being hurt? And yes... Mikoto is angry, but not with the Homra members. He's angry with Alice... which will be revealed in the next chapter!**

**To Mirei-Chan: Hello, and pleased to meet you! I loved the fighting scene, and yes... it was pretty awesome that a single girl beat up 8 Homra members... isnt it... *(^.^)* I thought about it and honestly, I needed Fushimi in Homra because he'll be the bridge to Scepter 4. Right now, Alice doesn't think highly of Scepter 4 (she's on bad terms with them as well) and recognizing Fushimi, not as a member of Scepter 4 but as a former member of Homra, might soften her relations with Scepter 4. It's a bit hard to explain since my mind makes plots and events without thinking '_WHY?!_' And Thanks for taking the time to review!**

**To Azalie-Kaurir: Mikoto and Alice seperated not due to their parent's divorce. Alice _was_ kidnapped, which is why she reacts strongly to human trafficking, and various underground and illegal transactions. The Mkoto/ Alice reunion will be coming soon, but it probably wont be as one expects... x.x**

**Disclaimer: I love Misaki and wish he was all mine... *sighs* but sadly he isn't... none of them are, OTL... except for Alice, Meru, Green King, Daichi, Yui... and some others...**

**Please review and I hope you enjoy it! *(^o^)***

* * *

**Chapter 5: Anna**

**Later That Same Night**

When someone cleared their throat behind her, Alice whirled around, her left hand burst into green flames and she tackled the figure in the room. The two of them landed on the floor of her room in a mess of tangled limbs. The adrenaline from her earlier fight hadn't faded yet and continued to dictate her every move.

Alice's hand move towards the intruder's throat, ready to burn it to ashes in an instant, should the intruder prove to be a threat to her clan, but when her hand was an inch away from making contact… it was deflected like her hand had hit some kind of a wall. Eyes widening in surprise, Alice paused for a moment but it was in that moment, that the intruder took advantage of the situation and brought their knee up to her in the stomach. Fazing her momentarily, the intruder grabbed Alice's wrist, rotating it to the limit and pinned her arm behind her back and slammed her into the floor.

Alice clenched her teeth, muffling her voice and tried not to gasp in pain when her bruised cheek crashed into the floorboards. The intruder straddled her back and leaned down against her ear, muttering…

"Jeez, calm down will you? If I knew you were going to act so violent, I would have waited for you in the kitchen instead."

That bastard-

…

Eh?

Alice stilled in shock, as the voice finally registered familiarity in her mind.

"Meru?"

"Who else?" Meru smirked, "Expecting someone else?"

"W-w-w-wha~… Wait! What are you doing?!" Alice shouted in surprise, wincing when Meru accidentally tightened her hold on her. "Let go of me… please?"

"Will you stop hitting me?" Meru raised an eyebrow. Alice nodded wearily, sighing with relief as her forearm started to cool down when Meru let go. Sitting up, Alice sighed, rolling her shoulders, trying to work out the pain. "Why are you home so late?" Meru asked.

Alice froze, a dozen excuses came to mind but none of them were useable, besides Meru would never believe she was kidnapped by aliens… would she?

"Some classmates and I were… doing a group project… at that family restaurant around the corner of the school… I don't remember the name… but the food… was good," Alice stammered, shifting her gaze every once in a while.

"You hate eating out."

"We were eating cake."

"At a family restaurant?"

"They aimed to please."

Meru glared at her, before sighing, "Fine. I can't tell you what to do but at the very least be back before dinner."

Alice looked her in the eye, a smirk playing with her lips, "Dinner? Made by you? Absolutely not. I'll die if I do."

A faint red clouded Meru's cheeks before she scowled, "Then come home earlier and make it yourself!" Before she could restrain herself, Alice began to chortle with laughter, causing the faint red in Meru's cheeks to deepen in color. Pushed to the limits of her patience, Meru whacked Alice on the head and scowled, "Go to sleep."

Still laughing, with tears brimming at the corner of her eyes, Alice smirked, "Just stay out of my kitchen."

Meru picked up the towel Alice had dropped and threw it at her, "Don't sass me." Grumbling, she stomped out of Alice's room, clicking off the lights along the way, leaving Alice standing in the middle of the room in total darkness.

Gulping, Alice felt her own mind slowly slip away as the darkness began to play tricks on her mind. Groping around her room, Alice scrambled for the nightlight she always kept near her bed. Sighing with relief when she found it, Alice plugged it in and her room filled with light.

With the adrenaline and tension gone from her body, Alice crumbled into her bed, burying her face into her pillow, breathing in the scent of citrus and honey… reminding herself that she wasn't back there… that she wasn't still in the god forsaken cell, waiting for her own death.

_If it wasn't for you…_

A voice echoed in Alice's head. She gripped her pillow closer to her.

_If it wasn't for you… I wouldn't be dead!_

The same ghostly soprano echo yelled. Alice clutched her blanket tighter against her own body, feeling the hot tears staining her pillow.

_If only you had listened to them… why didn't you listen to them?! Why do you always have to be so stubborn!?_

An image of a small girl, barely nine, dressed in a ragged and blood stained white dress stood in front of her. The girl's orange hair jutted out in uneven edges, cuts and scrapes decorated every surface of her body. What scared Alice the most, though… was that empty look in her eyes. It was the glassy look that corpses start to get after a few hours.

_It was YOUR fault!_

The girl screamed at her, clutching her torn dress in her mangled hands, tears mixing in with the blood flowing from her head.

Alice whimpered, silently screaming into her pillow and faded into a restless sleep.

It was morning when she finally woke up, slightly deranged from the nightmares. Absentmindedly, taking no notice of her surroundings, Alice prepared and left for school. Meru frowned at the front door when it swung shut, remembering how Alice was like when she first took her in.

_I thought she was done with the nightmares… she told me that she was fine now…_

Meru sighed, chugging down her glass of milk before remembering… she forgot to tell Alice that the Gold King had denied her request.

Shaking her head, Meru walked into the bathroom and stared in shock. Her tube of concealer was completely empty and her bag of cosmetics were a mess and thrown all over the sink. Sighing at the mess, the only thought that remained in her head, as she cleaned, was…

_Who's she trying to impress, using so much concealer? Or is she finally breaking out…_

* * *

**Homra**

"A-anna… Are you sure you want to do this?" Yata asked, uncertain if bringing her was the right thing to do.

A light scowl appeared on Anna's face, startling Yata, before disappearing all together.

"November 23rd, second attempt at bringing in Alice. Starring… Anna!" Totsuka smiled from behind his camera.

"Why are we here then?" Fushimi growled, annoyed that he was put in the same situation as yesterday.

"To apologize to the girl and Yata- chan still needs to give back her PDA," Totsuka smiled, peering at Yata from his camera.

"Che!" Yata scowled and rubbed his nose, "She should be apologizing to me."

Totsuka's eyes widened in surprise, "You didn't have your nose set right, yet?!"

Yata's scowl deepened, especially when Fushimi nearly burst into laughter. Yata clicked his tongue, "Keh-, Kusanagi- san said it'll be a reminder not to engage in a fight any time soon,"

A quiet giggle escaped from Anna before she managed to hold it in. Totsuka beamed, in surprise, at the sight of a happy Anna. Yata scowled that the one time he managed to make Anna laugh; it was because he was in pain with a broken nose.

"Ah… the first train just rolled in," Totsuka said nonchalantly, finding it funny that both boys just tensed up at the sounds of chatter mixing in with the screeching noise of the train wheels.

When a familiar mob of red hair appeared, Yata and Fushimi disappeared into the crowd before Totsuka could even warn them about fighting. Sighing, he glanced down, about to ask Anna what she wants to do and to his shock… Anna was already gone as well.

Feeling slightly abandoned, Totsuka joined the crowd and he tried to find Anna since the other two can definitely take care of themselves.

* * *

Pushing his way through the crowd, by the time Yata got to where he last saw the girl, Fushimi was already there. He was gripping the girl's wrists behind her back in one hand and the other hand gripped one of his throwing knives, also pressed against her back. Homra's vanguard watched Fushimi tighten his grip on her wrists, surprised that she was even _trying _to fight back as her face would slightly contort in pain, it was faint and he had only noticed because he was staring at her. Yata looked around, surprised that no one was panicking… considering that his best friend just pulled a knife on one of their classmates.

Although… around him, there were a few people who were whispering, "Do you see that-", "Bitch probably picked a fight she can't win…", "What else would you expect from a yankee", "Probably a druggie… did you see those bruises on her back…", "I saw, I saw… they were huge and colorful…"

Yata turned and glared at them, wanting to yell at those girls for insulting Mikoto- san's little sister when the last thing they said finally registered in his head.

_Colorful… bruises?!_

Yata whipped his head back to where Alice and Fushimi still stood, glaring at each other, daring the other to blink first. Every once in a while, Fushimi would tighten his grip, causing the girl to flinch. Yata continued to stare at them, realizing that it wasn't so much that she wasn't trying to fight back but that she couldn't…

_If those girls were right… then Saru's…_

Eyes widening, Yata quickly made his way to where Fushimi and Alice stood. Hearing his footsteps, both of them turned from their staring-, no, their _glaring_ contest and glanced at him.

Fushimi scoffed and smirked at him, "What took you so long, Misaki~? Took a while to evade all the girls in the crowd?"

While Alice's eyes widened in rage and she glared, "You! Why the fuck are you here, again? Yesterday wasn't enough for you? Or did you want to be taught another lesson?! I'm ready for round two when you are." She spat, her eyes gleaming, half of her wanted to kick herself for bringing that up, but continued glaring nonetheless.

"Tch," Fushimi clicked his tongue, smirk and smile gone from his face as he whispered into her ear, "I'd like to see you try." He pulled her closer to him and pressed his knife against her so that a bead of blood trickled down the side of her neck.

Feeling something warm trickle from her neck, Alice struggled against Fushimi's grip. Fushimi smirked as he stared at her struggling figure, even though her glare promised a lifetime of pain if he was ever stupid enough to let go.

When there came a tug at the edge of her skirt, Alice wanted to cry in frustration. They were already humiliating her, and now they were going to touch her! Alice wanted to kick her leg out and knock the damned pervert unconscious, but out of pure curiosity, she glanced down first… wanting to make sure that she knows exactly who'll be her next tormented victim.

Looking down, Alice saw the one thing she had never expected to see… a little girl, in a lacy red dress and her snow white hair was held back by another lacy red headband. Though seeing the girl shocked her, what was most surprising… was that this was the same girl she had dreamed off the other day… or was it yesterday.

She was the girl in my dreams,_ 'That came out oddly wrong_,' Alice thought, and every single detail about her were exactly the same… even that small red marble that she was using to look at her with. Unnerved by the girl's gaze, Alice squirmed till the girl put her marble back into her pocket. She placed a hand on Fushimi's and spoke softly, "You should let her go, you're hurting her."

Fushimi scowled at the little girl, "And what's stopping her from freaking out on us like yesterday?"

Anna met his glare, and spoke without a single trace of emotion within her words, "I'll stop her."

Yata chose now to intervene and shouted at his friend, "Oi, Saru! Just let her go."

"Tch." Fushimi let go and let his throwing knives slip back into his sleeves. While his guard was down, Alice spun on her leg, aiming a quick punch to his unprotected stomach… but a certain little girl hugged her around her waist, nearly making her land her punch somewhere lower than she intended. To avoid the embarrassment that she'd probably wrought on herself more than the bluenette, Alice stilled, completely stopping her movements.

Glancing down wearily at the girl, Alice sighed and tried to pry her fingers off of her school uniform. Growing more and more frustrated when her efforts were to naught, Alice huffed and gave up completely, allowing herself to be cuddled by the doll like girl.

"I thought we came to an understanding that I'll dismiss it as an accident if you don't go roaming in my mind excessively," Alice growled, annoyed at how her day fared so far. First thing in the morning, she was almost late… again. As a precaution, Alice had taken the roundabout route and ended up just as late as the day before. And then, for the rest of the day, Yui had restrained from talking to her but continued to stare at the back of her head. Alice was relieved when the last bell rang and she jumped from her seat. Upon leaving the school, Alice realized that she still didn't have her PDA on her and had to leave clandestinely, once again, through the little known passageway.

"It wasn't so much the reading, but your personality that led me to believe you wouldn't harm me," Anna replied, coolly, checking her grip around Alice's waist. Her statement left Yata and Fushimi speechless, while Totsuka, who had just arrived on the scene, looked around clueless.

"And if you believed wrong?" Alice asked, raising an eyebrow.

"And yet, I did not," Anna said.

Wrinkling her eyebrows, Alice stopped questioning her and the two of them fell into a quiet staring contest, with none of the ferocity that she had shown the bluenette, trying to decipher the other.

Feeling awkward at the quiet tension in the air, Totsuka interject their stares with a loud and cheery, "Nee~ So you're Alice Zen?"

Alice turned a glare on the smiling man, "Thought you already knew, unless you have a fetish for sending people after little girls."

A bit taken aback, Totsuka's smile faltered but that didn't stop him from trying to get to know the girl, "It was more of a rhetorical question then one that needed to be answered. But, I'll admit… we knew of you beforehand." Alice raised an eyebrow and Totsuka quickly added, "Yata- chan took your PDA and we saw your ID."

Eyes widening, Alice turned to the said boy, thrusting out her hand, demanding the return of her PDA.

Cheeks reddening, Yata stuttered, "I-It wasn't like I took it, I picked it up when you dropped it."

"It's in your possession, so you took it. If coming after me was just so you could return it to me, then why couldn't you have done that yesterday?" Alice scowled.

"Maybe if you didn't attack me first, then I could have returned it to you!" Yata growled, momentarily forgetting how he felt about girls in general.

"Maybe if you would have explained it the moment you grabbed me, then I wouldn't have attacked you!" Alice retorted, angry that this boy was blaming the events that occurred on her.

"How could I have explained anything when you kne-, when you kicked me before I could do anything!" Yata shouted, red returning to his cheeks.

Raising an eyebrow, Alice smirked, "You mean when I kicked you where the sun doesn't shine? Did you sing soprano for a week?" Glancing at him innocently, Alice added, "Guess so, you sound a bit high strung… unless, you were just born with that abnormally high pitched shriek."

Jerking his head to the side, Fushimi started to shake profoundly as he hastened to cover his mouth. Alice continued to smirk at the reddened boy, only to have her cheek tightly pinched.

"You shouldn't be so mean," Anna said, still pinching her cheeks, taking the liberty to stretch it beyond its limits as well.

"O-oww, A-anna! Btop bit!"** (O-oww, A-anna! Stop it!)** Alice mumbled, slight tears brimming at the corner of her eyes.

"Be nice," Anna said. And when Alice nodded ruefully, Anna let go, grabbed Alice by her sleeve and began to drag her away.

Rubbing her stinging cheek, Alice grumbled, "Where are we going?"

"For a walk."

"Why?"

Anna paused before answering, "You need to exercise."

A dark aura descended on Alice as she dug her heels into the pavement, halting their strides, "Did you just call me fat?"

Anna blinked innocently, "No, but those extra cakes are just sitting there, doing nothing for-"

"You know what? I don't want to hear it," Alice snapped, stopping Anna from saying anything else.

"Then, let's go," Anna resumed tugging on the older girl's sleeve.

Alice sighed, "Just tell me where, my guardian would have a fit if I came home late, _again_," Alice spat the last words at the bluenette and the chestnut head, who were trailing behind them, admiring the expert handling the little girl had on her. Ignoring Alice's last jab at them, both were wondering if this side of the strain was why the Red King was fond of her.

"We're going to see Mikoto."

Paling slightly, Alice looked pained when she repeated, "Mikoto?", barely above a whisper.

* * *

**I'd like to apologize beforehand for any OOC- ness of the characters. This is just how they act in the fantasies in my head.**

**Any review is greatly appreciated and helps keep me motivated! Any questions is welcome~ though, even I'm trying to figure just what I'm trying to say...**

**Alice's first meeting with Mikoto outside of the dream will not be sunshine and rainbows...**

**Anna's first meeting with Alice went, dare I say it(?), pretty well, considering the earlier clash between Homra and Alice.**

**Until Next Time! Ciao.**

**- xxtoushirou**


	6. Mikoto

**Still alive! Took a while to finish the chapter since finals and exams are taking place now...*sighs***

**Big THANKS to Rin-chan Desu, tohru15, Haruko Takahashi, Guest and Maya095 for the reviews! ****I feel like I can finally face my finals tomorrow.**

**********Another round of THANKS to anyone who follow/ favorite my story! And if you can, please leave a review as well! (~^.^)~**

**Disclaimer: I love Misaki and wish he was all mine... *sighs* but sadly he isn't... none of them are, OTL... except for Alice, Meru, Green King, Daichi, Yui... and some others...**

**Please review and I hope you enjoy it! *(^o^)***

* * *

**Chapter 6: Homra**

"Mikoto?" I said, barely louder than a whisper. The little girl, Anna, nodded. I stopped, frozen where I stood, unable to keep moving. After another tug from the girl, I started walking again.

We walked for a while before Anna stopped in front of a door. The door was a deep mahogany color that showed it was, obviously, well cared for. I took a few steps back and stared at the sign above the door.

"Bar… Homra?" I muttered, eyes widening in surprise. _Why were these people going in here? I thought this was Homra's bar… the red clan's base…_

"That's right," The chestnut head exclaimed, beaming with pride in his voice, "We are Homra! And Suoh Mikoto is our King, the Red King!"

Off to the side, the bluenette clicked his tongue in annoyance at the enthusiasm the other showed. The sandy blonde laughed it off like he had heard it numerous times before. Anna remained as impassive as before.

_Homra… Mikoto… King? Oh shit. Please, please, please tell me that the Mikoto who's King isn't the Mikoto I'm looking for… Oh shit. Meru's going to kill me._

"Misaki… I think you overwhelmed her," Anna said, pointing at the look of horror on my face.

"Eh?"

"Ah… Don't tell me… she doesn't know about Homra?" the sandy blonde asked incredulously.

"Y-you're… Homra?" I managed to ask. When the sandy blonde nodded, I felt something drop in my stomach; Meru is definitely going to kill me. She told me to stay away from Homra, so we wouldn't be dragged into the whole clans and kings business. But shit… I just willingly walked up to them…

… and fought them…

Ahh… I really want to leave now.

"Maa maa… we'll tell you all about it inside. Nee, nee?" the sandy blonde smiled and began to push me to the door. Once we were inside, my jaw dropped in shock. Obviously, the outside of the building just did not do justice to the gleaming furniture inside.

There was a jukebox to the side and next to it, laid an acoustic guitar, steadily gathering dust. It was dark, with light only coming in through the window and behind the counter where a bartender stood.

* * *

**Homra**

The bartender was polishing one of his drinking glasses, although it was already seemed shiny enough to Alice, and stared at the door, looking away only when it opened and five figures walked in.

"Izumo~ We're back!" Totsuka shouted, waving his camera around. Totsuka had walked in first. Anna walked in right behind him, hand in hand with a girl who looked like she really didn't want to be here. Fushimi and Yata walked in last, leaning against the door as if to block the entrance.

"Hn… what do we have here? Who is this little lady?" Kusanagi smiled through his glasses.

Her head jerked up, her eyes glowing with venom, "Just cut the crap," she spat, "You already know who I am, you all do! But the only one I know is this little girl, who reads my mind whenever she wants to." Alice pointed both index fingers at the little strain, who stared back intently, unnerving the other girl.

"Teme! I don't care if you're a girl, how dare you run your mouth off at Kusanagi- san!" Yata shouted, he tightened his grip around his bat when the girl had turned to glare at him, instead.

Raising an eyebrow, she scowled, "Do you really want to start this again?" Sputtering till he was red in the face, Yata looked away and shook his head hastily.

Looking startled, Kusanagi exchanged a small glance with Totsuka, who shrugged and smiled, and held out his hand. "It's nice to meet you. I'm the bartender here, Kusanagi Izumo."

Staring at his outstretched hand warily, Alice twitched, "Your hand isn't going to burst into flames if I shake it… will it?"

"Eh?" Kusanagi looked startled.

"Ah… that's right," Totsuka remembered, "She knows that we are Homra."

"Ah…" Kusanagi nodded in understanding and confirmed that he would not coat his hand with flames.

Still eyeing his hand, the girl grasped it, "Zen Alice." She nodded grimly.

There was an awkward silence in the room until Alice's whole body tensed when the sound of a chair scraping against the hard wooden floor squeaked throughout the room. Curious, she glanced to the side and stared in shock. Standing up from the chair, there stood a young man, wearing a black baseball cap that flattened his black hair, who scowled at her.

… but that wasn't the funny part.

The man had also worn a pair of large, dark sunglasses… but, evidently, one of the lenses had fallen from the frames, showing his obsidian black eyes. Muffling a sudden urge to laugh, Alice clasped both hands to her mouth, completely cutting off her air supply.

Glowering, the man yelled, "What's so funny about this, you brat?!"

Still finding the situation humorous, Alice turned away, taking deep breathes to calm herself. Not that it helped… the man was hell bent on making his presence known…

"Hello?! Itty bitty little girl? What? Don't tell me your deaf now? Cat got your tongue?" He snapped, snidely.

Alice whipped her head towards him, retorts ready to be thrown back. But one look at his sunglasses and she fell into severe coughing fit with tremors racking her entire body.

"Amazing, Bando- kun!" Totsuka exclaimed, "No matter what I said, she'd always find something to say back to me but with you… she can't even muster up a whisper!"

Deadpanning, Saburota Bando cursed under his breath.

"So you're… Bando- san?" Alice huffed through haggard breaths, "Don't tell me I did that…" Her breath hitched and her shoulders began to shake again.

"That's right, you little-"

"Oops, sorry about that," she waved her hand around nonchalantly and settled comfortably on one of the couches in the room. Anna hopped to the space next to her, her shoulder brushing slightly against Alice's. Raising an eyebrow at their little princess's actions, Kusanagi turned to Totsuka, who gave a quick shrug with his shoulders and walked towards the two.

"Alice- chan. I'm Totsuka Tatara." He introduced himself and nodded towards the two by the door.

"Yata, Homra's Yatagarasu," Yata muttered.

"Why don't you say your first name, Misaki!?" Fushimi smirked.

"Tch, what did I say about saying my first name you stupid monkey!" Yata yelled back.

Ignoring the two, Alice turned to Totsuka, "So the shorter one is Yatagarasu Misaki and the sneering loner is Monkey?"

Coughing slightly, Totsuka said, "Just Yata- chan and the other one is Saru, Fushimi Saruhiko…"

Alice nodded, undeterred, and turned to face the rest of the occupants in the room, "So… are the rest of you going to tell me your names or am I supposed to call you thingy number one and two…"

Scowling, the others looked at each other and muttered, "Bando Sabu-"

"Chitose Yu, at your service," Chitose winked at the girl.

"Eric Surt," A blonde boy mumbled, rubbing his shoulder.

"Dewa Masaomi, the one who got punched in the face," said a muffled voice, hidden underneath a derby hat and a bundle of bandages.

"Kamamoto Rikio, you threw me into the water," a pudgy blonde, with an equally scruffy goatee, scowled.

"Akagi Shohei."

"Pleased to meet you, though I doubt you'd feel the same," Alice smirked, "So… you're all Homra?"

Kusanagi nodded, again, and the whole bar fell silent. Feeling rather brave, Chitose decided to ask the question that they were all, without a doubt, thinking.

"Alice- chan, can I call you Alice- chan?"

Alice scowled but nodded.

Smiling, Chitose continued, "So Alice- chan… I think I speak for all of us when I ask… Just where did you learn to fight?" Ignoring the glares he was getting from his fellow clansmen, Chitose continued, "I mean, look around the room. We're all, more or less, older than you and yet you managed…" Chitose trailed off, remembering exactly how this little girl managed against _eight_ of them. Most men, double their size even, probably couldn't even land a single _hit_ on any _one_ of them.

Everyone in the room held their breath, watching Alice think about just how she should answer them.

"Well…" Alice mumbled, "I learned to fight a while ago."

"How long was a while ago?" Chitose leaned closer to Alice, curious about the answer.

Scrunching her nose, Alice thought about her past eight years. Taken when she was seven, she was held for about two years, give or take. And Meru started training her about half a year after she joined the green clan, abiding to her request. "Hn… maybe five years, give or take."

"Five years was all it took to train someone on par to a clansman?" Bando muttered under his breath, still angry and crossed about his poor glasses.

"Oh stop whining, emo boy." Alice scoffed, "I'm sure you have more glasses where that came from."

"Whining?!" Bando exclaimed.

"You kind of are… San- chan," Shohei shrugged nonchalantly.

"What?! Why are all of you just taking this in?! She's the one who did this to all of us!" Bando shouted exasperatedly, pointing at Alice, who scowled at him.

"Yeah… like the rest of you hadn't done any damage to me," Alice sneered, folding her arms and crossing her legs as she leaned back against the couch.

"What damage?!" Bando all but screamed at her.

Fixing her glare on his, Alice rubbed the palms of her hand against both cheek and when she pulled away, the silence in the room grew thicker to the point that Alice could have sworn that she could grab it from the air.

Holding up her, once, white sleeve, she snapped at Bando, "See this? This is called concealer. Most women use it to hide their ugly red pimples. By some chance of fate, I somehow found another reason to use it and it's called 'covering up my bruises, Mr. My- Pride- Was- Beaten- By- A- Girl- So- Badly- That- I- Forgot- To- Think- About- What- Eight- Men- Must- Have- Done- To- Her." Alice finished snidely, "Do you need to hear about my other injuries or do you need to see it to believe it?"

Jaw dropping, Bando had nothing to say. Not that anyone would let him. Kusanagi was thoroughly annoyed at the damage done to the girl; even Totsuka dropped his typically smiling warm demeanor and looked cold for the most part.

"Excuse me," Alice muttered and asked the nearest person where the bathroom was. Disappearing down the hall, Alice emerged moments later, bruises gone from her cheeks… but the faint smell of cosmetics clung to her.

Alice looked around at the group of men around her and sighed inwardly; Alice grabbed her bag and took out a few sheets of paper and began writing on them.

"What are you doing?" asked a curious Totsuka.

"Homework, you're not talking so I would rather do something productive than waddle through the awkwardness in the air." Alice shrugged.

As Alice bent over her math worksheets, a common thought flitted through the heads of everyone present… _Alice Zen was… relatively normal_. Working on her homework, none of the red clansmen could see a hint of the sarcastic fighter that they knew she was… and yet, there was something about the way she moved, the way she tensed up whenever the bell on the door chimed, that suggested that she was a trained fighter, perhaps one of the best out there.

Wincing at the resounding cracks through the air as the door chimed and a customer walked in, Dewa Masaomi pitied each and every writing utensil the girl snapped out of nervousness. Black and blue ink, sometimes bits of pencil lead would also stick into her palm, would run down her arm for a full minute before she excused herself to go to the bathroom and clean it up. When she came back, her hands would always be devoid of any ink smudges or any reminder of what just happened.

Unbeknownst to the rest of them, Alice had been using her green aura to burn off the ink from her skin. Calling herself an idiot for using her green aura in enemy territory, Alice couldn't deny that the green flames had soothed her nerves. It was familiar, it was warm… and it was always there when she needed it the most…

… quite unlike a certain brother of hers.

Lying back on the couch quite comfortably, when the door chimed again, a sense of dread crawled down her spine.

"Chiwa*****!" Everyone stood up and bent down as if to bow, as a tall red haired man walked through the door.

"King," Totsuka said, catching the Red King's attention and pointed to the red haired girl sitting next to Anna.

Still bent over her homework, to the others it looked like she was being defiant in their King's presence but in all truth and honesty, she was scared. Alice was afraid to look up and fear what she would find.

Subtle footsteps thumped against the floor till the sounds faded right behind where she sat, a large hand gripped her head and nudged it back till it laid against the back of the couch.

Alice looked up, taking in the unruly red hair and the piercing honey yellow eyes, the familiarity of it all wanted to make her puke. Staring at his face as a whole, Alice bit back the scream that erupted from deep within her.

* * *

Noticing Alice was near hyperventilation, Anna pinched her cheek between her thumb and index, whispering into Alice's ear.

"_He's not your mother, he's nothing like her. Mikoto is nice and warm."_

Calming down considerably, Alice glanced at the girl next to her, relaying a quick and silent thanks before turning back to the man towering over her.

"I'm not a dog, let go of my head," Alice muttered, pointing at the Red King's hand on her head that had recently begun to stroke her shoulder- length hair.

"You haven't changed a bit," Mikoto withdrew his hand from her head and sat on the couch parallel to the one she sat in.

"It's been eight years, I doubt I'm exactly the way you remembered me to be," Alice scoffed, folding her arms together like she was creating a wall between them.

Expecting Anna to get up and take her seat next to her beloved Red King, Totsuka eyed Anna but when she made no movement to get up, Totsuka looked surprised. One glance around the room and the others seemed just as shocked.

"Where have you been?" Mikoto stared at her, trying to find the little girl who used to follow him around to the point he wished she would fall off a cliff.

"Here and there. Been around the world at least three times. Why?" Alice twirled the pen in her hand, looking everywhere but at him.

"You disappeared for eight years, as your older brother, don't I have the right to know where you've been." Mikoto leaned forward, glaring at her, daring her to object… which she did.

"What?!" Alice sneered, scrunching up her nose, "Mother never told you what she did, what happened? Of course not." Alice answered her own question, "You were her beloved little boy, the one she would keep by her side no matter what. It doesn't matter what happened to me, because I'm here now, and I'll be gone soon."

"Gone soon? Where will you be going?" Mikoto raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly what it seems, we don't like to stay in one place for too long," Alice wrinkled her nose, thinking about all those times she got stuck in jail for something the Green King had done. Not to mention, he hadn't even had the decency to bail her out and she ended up staying the night, ignoring her jail mates and refrained from flushing their harmonicas down the toilet.

"We? Royal 'we'?" Kusanagi questioned.

Scoffing, Alice smirked, "Of course not, I'm not _that _stuck up. Eight years ago, I was only seven. I highly doubt that I would have still been alive… or sane… if someone hadn't taken care of me."

"Someone?" Totsuka muttered, noting the way she was carefully withholding information.

"No one you know," Alice snickered, "No one alive knows what they look like."

The bar was silent again, taking in the hint Alice had willingly given. Bother her… and they'll die. Only Totsuka smiled, aware that she hadn't mentioned why others have died… aware of the bluff the girl created from bits of the truth. Catching Mikoto's unchanging expression, he knew that he hadn't believed her words, either.

And then Totsuka remembered what Alice had said before, "What do you mean what she did?"

"It's none of your business now is it?" Alice snapped, turning her glare on the sandy blonde next to the bar.

Mikoto glared at the girl in front of him, "But it is mine. She said you ran away, that you left without a word nor a good reason, that you-"

"Shut up!" Alice growled, slamming her hands down on the table, "Run away…?" Her voice quivered, "You said it, you're my older brother… but that does not give you the right to judge me when you know nothing about me. Nothing about what had happened!" Alice was screaming now, a voice at the back of her head was shouting, telling her to stop… but years of pent up frustration and bitterness all came tumbling out, "Did I really seem like the type to run away?! For no good damn reason?! When have I ever done anything just for the hell of it?!"

Eyes were bulging from the heads of the other Homra members; none of them were expecting her to just… lose it. Totsuka hovered around the bar, wondering if her should cut in or leave it all to fate. Often he would tell others that _'Everything would be alright''_, but he was really doubtful that it would turn out nicely anytime soon.

"…"

Feeling like a fire had been lit inside of her, Alice scrambled and threw everything into her school bag and stomped to the door. No one stopped her, no one stood in her way. Though the bluenette, Saru or something like that, stared at her for a bit, like she was a mystery waiting to be solved.

Alice pulled open the door and light streamed into the bar. Bathed in the rays of the setting sun, Alice turned her head back and scowled at her brother, "Stay away from me. Leave me alone. Or I swear, Genji Kagutsu will not be the last King to die."

With that said, Alice slammed the door shut, leaving behind shocked and outraged red clansmen. Needless to say, Alice didn't have a nice day, not at all. Thinking that she'll be able to go home, take a nice hot bath, and sleep till tomorrow, Alice was visibly happier.

But fate has it in for the poor girl. Unbeknownst to her, Alice's night was just about to get worse… and it all starts with Meru's announcement of the Gold King's refusal to approve her request to raid Izumi Corps…

* * *

**I'd like to apologize beforehand for any OOC- ness of the characters. This is just how they act in the fantasies in my head.**

**Any review is greatly appreciated and helps keep me motivated! Any questions is welcome~ though, even I'm trying to figure just what I'm trying to say...**

**This is it for now, I'll try to update soon but it might take a while.**

**Personally, I think my teachers are all plotting against me, scheduling my English, Math and Language finals on the same day... - o -**

**Until Next Time! Ciao.**

**- xxtoushirou**


	7. The Gold

**And I am back! Finals are over (YES!) but in a week or so I have my regents (DAMN IT!)... *sighs***

**Big THANKS to Neoka and the three Guest's who reviewed!**

**Another round of THANKS to anyone who follow/ favorite my story! And if you can, please leave a review as well! (~^.^)~**

**Disclaimer: I love Misaki and I wish he was all mine... *sighs* but sadly he isn't... none of them are, OTL... except for Alice, Meru, Green King, Daichi, Yui, Haru... and more to come... probably...**

**Please review and I hope you enjoy it! *(^o^)***

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Gold**

"What?!" Alice screeched, pacing in a circle in Meru's bedroom. "How could he do that?! Does that man not understand what's at stake?!" Angrily punching the air, Alice gave another screech. "That's it. Approval or not, we are raiding Izumi Corps tonight."

Sighing, Meru ran a hand through her sunny yellow hair and tried to pacify the raging teen. Key word… _tried_…

"Alice, you know you just can't do that. I have known the Gold King a bit longer than you did but he always did have a reason for his actions."

Turning a glare on her, Alice snarled, "And what? Leave those kids there? They've already been there for two nights since I had that dream, and god knows how many nights before they managed to contact me!"

"You think that I don't know that?" Meru glared at her. It was subtle but the accusation was still there, "I was the one there when I saved you from a similar situation nearly six years ago. I helped you through all those nights you couldn't fall asleep because you thought that they would come back for you. And for the love of –, I still have the scratches and bruises you gave me when I tried to drag- encourage you to go outside."

Scowling, Alice glared at her feet. It doesn't happen often but when Meru brings up shit from the past… damn, she is _not_ a happy camper at the moment.

"I know you're angry and that you're feeling impulsive right now. And I know it's all because of what you went through that you feel so inclined to take matters into your own hands but I do understand the Gold King's hesitation at giving you his speedy consent… no, let me _finish._" Meru glared when Alice opened her mouth to say something.

Nodding approvingly when Alice snapped her mouth shut, Meru continued, "Izumi Corporation is a very large organization. It's very different from the small companies that you've burned to the ground thus far. They even have contacts within the Yellow Clan…" Alice sneered at the mention of _that_ group, "… and certain executives from the Dark Clan. I did my own research and Izumi Corps is also supplying the Chinese Triads with drugs and various other transactions as well. If you go into this blindingly without the Gold's support, then the Yellow Clan and the Dark Clan would be hot on your tail. Not to mention the Triads. They're all human, not a strain or clansmen within their ranks, but they're still annoying as fuck."

Still scowling, Alice refused to meet Meru's gaze. Taking her silence as acceptance, Meru continued with her plan, "Tomorrow's Saturday, meaning no school. We'll go to the Gold King's tower… yes, both of us," Meru added when she saw the pleading look on Alice's face, "We'll get him to agree to a deal, mutual benefits, and you'll be well on your way to save the little munchkins. Agreed?"

Alice scrunched up her nose, "They aren't that young."

Raising an eyebrow, Meru glared, "Agreed?"

Glaring, Alice growled, "Does it matter? It's not like you'll let agree to anything else anyways."

"Agreed?"

Sighing, Alice rubbed her eyes, "If it makes you happy."

Taking that as an answer, Meru got up and walked out of the room, and came back in looking a bit flustered.

Trying not to laugh, Alice coughed, "Don't recognize your own room?"

Scowling, Meru pushed the snickering girl out and slammed her door shut. Feeling slightly better than she did when she walked into the room, Alice walked into her own room and groaned in annoyance. Of all days, her King chose to pass out on her bed _tonight?!_

Poking her King, quite unashamedly, a few times on his cheek, she gathered her favorite pillow and blanket before heading out to the couch in the living room. Though, not before she threw another blanket over the sleeping man. Staring at the dry and dreary mob of hair on his head, Alice groaned knowing that it was that time of the year again. Her King's sword had been steadily deteriorating for the past ten years.

When she had discovered the green aura's healing potential, she started to use it to restore her King's Damocles sword. It always worked… but over time it would start deteriorating again and she'd have to start over. She would do it several times a year but the pain that comes with the healing was _not _fun. Alice called it a healing property of the aura but, in all honesty, she was taking the Green King's rampaging power and storing it in her own body till it burns off on its own. It's a tiring process and one that leaves her incapacitated for weeks after.

Alice sank into the couch cushions, sighing at the way her body was rejecting sleep. Before her mind faded away, a single thought came to her mind; _Did I ever mention to Homra that I was Sleeping Forest?_

* * *

"_Shh~ She's sleeping."_

"_King! You took her bed again?! Why do you always do that?"_

"_Saa… I wonder why…"_

"_She was already in a bad mood and now she's probably sleep deprived?!"_

"Oh shut up!" Alice groaned, pulling her pillow over her face, blocking out the sunlight streaming through the window,_ 'Damn, I forgot to pull the shades before I went to sleep.'_

"Oh, Alice… you're awake?" Meru asked uncertainly, like she was afraid the little girl was going to chew her up and then spit her out for disturbing her sleep. "Is breakfast ready?"

"Uhh…"

Face palming, Alice groaned, "Forget it. Start heating the pan, I'll make the eggs. What else do you want?"

"Pancakes."

"King?" Alice turned to the platinum blonde standing in the middle of the living room…staring at nothing in the air…

"Ah… umm… I guess I'll have some bacon with the eggs…" He started to stare at the corner of the ceiling again.

Sighing, Alice walked over to him and covered his eyes with her hand and dragged him away, all the while muttering, "Stop staring, you know you can't help them… and if you try, they'll attack you."

Blinking profusely, Shogo nodded and sat down at the table, staring across it at Meru. Noticing her King's gaze, she glanced up from reading the news on her PDA and stared at him for a while before following his gaze to her left shoulder and asked,

"Yes? Is there something on me?"

Smiling, he tilted his head to the side and chimed, "Nope," popping the 'p'.

Narrowing her eyes at him, Meru scoffed, "Then why don't I believe you."

"But there really isn't anything on you," Alice called from the kitchen. Slowing her bustling pace, Alice glanced at Meru long enough for her to see Alice's eyes blink from her usual color to a startling honey yellow before fading back to their normal amethyst hue.

'_Weird…'_ Meru thought, _'Alice never uses her power like that willingly.'_

"ru… MERU!?" Alice shouted.

"Hn… what?"

"Jeez… I was asking, when do you want to go? Personally, I think the soon we go, the sooner we'll be able to come back but… I don't want to see the Gold King so early in the morning."

"Oh… right," Meru muttered, "I was actually thinking after lunch…"

Alice blanched, "I'm not making lunch."

"We'll go out, then." Meru shrugged. She liked the teen's cooking but making her cook every meal was a bit unfair. "Alice?"

"Hn?" Alice looked up.

"I thought you hated that power of yours, why'd you use it before?" Meru asked, slightly tilting her head to the side, like it'll convince the red headed teen to tell her.

"Wanted to see what King was seeing…" Alice shrugged. "See if it was malevolent or benevolent…"

"Oh…" Meru nodded, thinking that Alice was too curious for her own good, "So which was it…"

"… pitiful…" Alice scowled, "It was a lady, around her thirties. Her husband killed her in this very house and she was screaming, shouting for her daughter…"

"Alice…"

"Hn?"

"Scary…" Meru sweat dropped.

"Not really… the lady was more pitiful than scary." Alice shrugged.

"Not the lady… you," Meru smirked and went back to eating her eggs. A moment of silence entered the room until a horrid snore rumbled through the room.

"Meru."

"Hn?" Meru looked up from her eggs.

"Get King to eat something before he falls asleep again." Alice sighed, watching her King's head abruptly drop towards the plate of bacon and eggs.

"Why me?" Meru whined.

"Because I cooked."

"Tch," clicking her tongue, Meru clicked underneath the table, connecting with one of the Green King's shin, forcing him to jerk awake. "Eat," Meru said and dug into her own plate.

"You could have shaken him awake…" Alice raised an eyebrow.

"Too much trouble."

* * *

**Two Hours Later**

In the living room of their apartment, Meru and Alice sat side by side, staring at the television in front of them in monotony. They were watching this rerun of an American show featuring a talking sponge, starfish and other various ocean dwellers… there were also bubbles (talking ones too) and a… squirrel… under the sea…

Americans… they come up with the darnest things.

While Alice couldn't possibly fathom why this show was so popular, one glance at Meru and she understood that it wasn't so much the show… but the childhood memories that came with watching it.

When the screen turned blue and credits started rolling across it, Meru stood up, stretching and yawning, and said that it was time. Ignoring the smirk on Meru's face, Alice snorted and walked to her bedroom.

Once inside, Alice spent a whole minute just staring at her closet. For the first time in years, Alice had no idea what to wear. Should she wear what she usually does or should she wear something more formal out of respect for the Gold King. Torn between her favorite outfit and one that was slightly more formal, Alice tensed when a knock sounded from her door.

"Hurry!" Meru shouted from the other side.

Ignoring her outburst, Alice grabbed a gray long sleeved, button less cardigan and slipped it on. Ignoring the skimpy pink shorts that Meru had once said looks great with it, she pulled on a black skirt that stretched mid- thigh. Checking in the mirror, Alice strapped a gun holster on the upper part of her thigh and clicked a gun, fully loaded, into place.

Alice turned to walk to the door, grabbing a few talismans from her bedroom table, and opened the door to greet Meru.

Meru looked her over once, her gaze lingering on her right thigh before sighing, "We're going to the Gold Tower not to war."

"Better safe than sorry?" Alice shrugged, she trusted the gold clansmen as far as she could throw them without using her green aura, which is to say… not very far at all.

"Whatever you say…" Meru crooned, ushering her out of the apartment. King was sleeping again and Alice wondered if he would wake up before they came back. God forbid he did… Alice wondered just how many more clansmen would have joined. Honestly, the man was an idiot… an idiot who is just as gullible as he is trusting. All anyone needs is a good sob story and the man would make you a green clansman…

* * *

**Homra**

"Not that I'm complaining… but where are we all going?" Yata asked, tucking his skateboard under an arm. The moment he came into the bar today, Kusanagi- san clapped his hand together, saying that everyone was here and they proceeded to _leave _the bar. Even Saru had no idea what was going on.

The Red King and his clansmen were walking down the street. Seeing them make their way down the road, frightened civilians would stand to the side, hoping… praying that the temperamental Red King wasn't here for them. Soon, Homra fell into a familiar pattern, with their King leading up front and Anna to his left, clinging onto his jacket. Kusanagi stood to his right and Totsuka to his left, watching over the small child. The others were scattered around behind him, in an order that distinctively showed who was superior to the other.

"Hn? Oh, we received a summons. The Gold King wants us at his tower." Kusanagi recited what was written to them.

"Eh? The Gold? Isn't he like one of the first kings?" Kamamoto took a sharp intake of breath.

"What does another clan want with us?" Shohei mumbled.

"Does it matter?" Yata scoffed, "They're just another clan with another king but Suoh Mikoto is our King!"

"That's right." Kamamoto smiled at Yata's enthusiasm with Homra. He had hoped that over time, Yata would tone it down a bit… but it just might be too much to ask for.

"Demo… what would the Gold King want with us, with Homra?" Chitose mused.

"Hn… if the past was anything to go by then he'll probably have a special mission for us… or something," Totsuka shrugged, his easygoing smile back on his face. After Alice had left yesterday, the entire bar was silent to the point that you could even hear _Anna_ breathe. Mikoto had left the bar, probably to let himself calm down… though the missing warehouses downtown shows just how calm he really was.

"If it was a mission…" Dewa muttered, "Who would go?"

"Hn…" Totsuka thought loudly, "Can't be me, I can't fight. Since the Gold King had wanted the whole clan here, then he doesn't want King so King is out too. Izumo would also be out since he should be with King…" Totsuka muttered to himself, "So next possible choice would be… Yata- kun and Saru- kun…"

"Hn," Fushimi sighed, "Why is it always me?"

"Eh?! I have to go with Saru?!" Yata shouted, surprised since Totsuka usually paired him up with Kamamoto. Saru needs to make more friends in Homra, is what Totsuka always said.

* * *

When the Red King and his clansmen arrived at the Gold Tower, their reception was most unexpected. Every Gold Clansmen in the area looked preoccupied with something else, their minds all elsewhere.

"What's up with them?" Yata jerked his head toward the dazed gold clansman leading them through the Gold Tower. Yata wasn't sure if he should be amazed that they were navigating the labyrinth like tower absentmindedly or annoyed that the gold clansman hadn't so much as looked at them before ushering them inside.

"I thought it was just a rumor but I heard people say that every once in a while, the Gold King's clansmen get dazed, like there is always something on their minds that's keeping them from focusing on their work." Kusanagi shrugged, fingering the lighter in his pocket. He really wanted to light a cigarette and take in a long drag, but the Gold King's warning to him, from the last time he was here, still rung clearly in his mind like it was only yesterday.

"Ah…" Totsuka shouted in recognition, "I heard the same rumor. Apparently whenever it happens, it's because there is this really beautiful woman coming to see the Gold King…"

"Or maybe, someone incredibly dangerous and the gold clansmen are wondering if their king is safe…" Kusanagi added.

"Or it could be both…" Chitose chimed in. Feeling the others stare at him in disbelief, he shrugged, "Beautiful _and_ dangerous? It's like a match made in heaven."

"Your womanizing ways truly knows no bounds…" Eric muttered in English, bringing a smirk to many faces, except Yata who looked around confused, while Chitose huffed in indignation.

"Yubikiri- san probably wouldn't want to hear something like that… hn?" Shohei snickered at Chitose's paling face.

"You wouldn't…" Chitose grumbled, staring wide eyed at the red head in front of him.

"Maybe not… but I would," Bando smirked, imagining just what the womanizer's assassin strain type of a girlfriend would do to him. "Jealously is a very ugly thing unless used by a _very_ capable person."

"Maria used to slice people to ribbons and tied the devil's knot with their intestines," Anna said, her face unchanging despite her disturbing revelation.

Gulping, Yata, all but whispered, "S-she told you that…?"

Anna shook her head, "I caught her thinking it when she saw Chitose flirt with another woman."

"O-oi, you should really watch what you say about other woman… especially since she could be watching…" Kamamoto gulped, glancing behind him warily.

"Maria wouldn't kill me… right?" Chitose chuckled nervously, when no one answered, Chitose turned to the little girl, who he knew wouldn't sugarcoat her words, "Right? … Anna?"

With a shrug of the little girl's shoulders, Chitose sweat dropped and paled significantly, forgetting for a moment that they were in the Gold King's Tower and Yubikiri Maria, despite her many connections, cannot enter the tower.

"Ah…" Totsuka said, pointing to the gold clansman who stopped in front of a door, "We're here…"

"FUCK!" a voice screamed from inside the room, a resounding crack as something smashed against the wall echoed throughout the whole tower.

"Not again…" the gold clansman groaned and slowly pushed open the door, only to slam it shut when a gold vase was thrown at it.

"Are you _fucking _kidding me?! Who the hell said I needed backup, that I _needed_ HELP?!"

When the gold clansman edged the door open again, Yata almost wanted to shout at him to close it. Close calls with death seems to follow him everywhere lately…

"Ah, Haru- san, Coming in might not be a good time right now…" a different voice chimed from inside the room.

The gold clansman chuckled, "When is it ever a good time when she's here." And you could almost hear the smirk in the other person's chuckle. "Besides, the Gold King's guests are here…"

"Let them in Shimizu Haru," a powerful voice boomed from within the room. A glance at Kusanagi confirmed that the voice did belong to the legendary Gold King.

"You're just going to _ignore_ me now?! Haven't you heard anything that I've said for the past half hour?!"

Anna's eyes lit up, remembering who this voice belonged to. The rest of Homra stood there, a bit confused at the familiarity of the voice and yet none of them had any idea where they might have heard it before.

Walking into the room, it was Yata who stopped first. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the girl in front of him. Her scarlet red hair fell in perfect waves around her, though there was a strand that stuck straight up, seemingly defying gravity. She was being held back by two gold clansmen who looked like they really didn't want to be caught in the middle when she finally snaps. Though she looks pretty close to her limit…

There was an abnormal bulge near her upper right thigh, but other than that… she was the complete opposite of how Yata remembered her to be. She was scary and had this murderous aura around her… and it was green?

That was the strangest part, the Mikoto- san's little sister that he remembered didn't have a green aura around her... what was going on?

Off to the side was an amazingly beautiful lady, her golden yellow hair was wrapped into a bun on her head. Her startling cobalt irises stared at each and every red clansman till she smiled and gave a short wave.

The red clansmen and their king stood there silent, staring wide eyed at the scene in the room, till one very brave, or perhaps he was suicidal, man called out…

"Ah! Alice- chan!"

The girl froze and turned around, her amethyst pupils widened in surprise before they flicked toward the blonde lady in the room, who now looked strangely irritated.

"Shit. This is really just not my week…"

* * *

**I'd like to apologize beforehand for any OOC- ness of the characters. This is just how they act in the fantasies in my head.**

**Any review is greatly appreciated and helps keep me motivated! Any questions is welcome~ though, even I'm trying to figure out just what I'm trying to say...**

**And this concludes... their visit to the Gold Tower, let's see if Alice can manage to stay in the same room with Homra glaring at her...**

**Until Next Time! Ciao.**

**- xxtoushirou**


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